A World in Black and White
by beautiful.intentions
Summary: Touko is a sixteen-year-old girl who cares deeply about a troubled young man called N. What will these affections lead her to?
1. Anxiety

Touko sat sullenly on the edge of her bed, face buried in her pillow. Next to her was her Delcatty, Beloved, whom she had obtained from a faraway friend. He had worked her hat awkwardly on his head in an attempt to cheer her up, but as cute as he looked, it hadn't helped in the slightest. He squeezed his way under her arm and into her lap, giving her face a lick.

She lifted her head and picked him up, placing him back where he had been. An obvious sign that she didn't want comforting. Taking the hint, Beloved jumped down from the bed and exited the room, leaving her alone.

She sighed frustratedly and laid down. Everything had been happening far too fast for her lately. The fate of all Unova had out of nowhere been shoved forcibly upon her by a boy she had barely even known. Her hand clutched the blanket tightly. _'The same boy I haven't been able to stop thinking about since that time in Nimbasa...'_ she thought, loosening her grip.

Ever since he had practically dragged her onto the ferris wheel with him, N had never once left her mind. Even though he had professed to her that day that he was the king of Team Plasma, she found herself always looking forward to the next time she would get to see him, and spending more time with him when they did meet. She knew she shouldn't, but...

Her mind wandered through all the times she had been with him. He was always nothing but kind to her, even though they were supposed to be enemies. He was never less than pleasant to be around, and it even seemed like he was flirting with her at times. There were moments when Touko thought that maybe, just _maybe,_ he actually felt the same way about her that she did him. She would consider admitting her feelings to him. Then came the doubt whispering in her ear; He'd laugh, tell her that they were on different sides, and that she was a fool. He only acted that way because he didn't know how to behave around females without it coming across as flirting.

Touko shook her head. She was becoming one of those lovesick teens that she, Cheren, and Bianca had always made fun of. It wasn't healthy thinking about him as much as she did, especially since in a week she might be having the ultimate battle against him that would decide the fate of the people and Pokémon of Unova. If Alder were to fail, which was very possible since N had Reshiram, it would be all up to her. She didn't even know how to awaken Zekrom yet! Meeting with him was just complicating things and distracting her from her mission. She had to stop herself from being close to him...

Though it tore her up inside, Touko knew exactly what she had to do. She slowly got out of bed and put her boots on. Beloved must have heard her, because in a flash he was at her feet, ready to accompany her. He followed her downstairs, where her mother was watching T.V.

"Are you heading out again?" asked her mother, turning to look at her.

She managed her best painted smile. "Yeah, but I should be back shortly..." She hoped her mother wouldn't be able to tell how miserable she was.

"Is something wrong, Kiddo?" she asked, to Touko's dismay.

Damn maternal instincts. "What? No, I'm fine," she lied, slipping outside and closing the door before she could get a reply.

Touko stood there for a minute, just outside the door. Was what she was about to do really for the best? She considered going back inside and forgetting about the whole thing when Cheren walked up.

"You want to do some battle practice? You'll need it for the big battle that's coming up," he said, Poké Ball already in hand.

Resisting the urge to groan, Touko clenched her teeth. "No thanks. I'm busy."

Cheren rolled his eyes. "Busy with what? Mooning over our adversary?" he retorted.

Touko tensed at his words. Her face turned bright red. She knew he didn't do it on purpose, but Cheren was great at saying the wrong things at the wrong time. She stormed away from him without another word.

Sensing he said something he shouldn't have, Cheren facepalmed and hurried after her. When he had caught up, he grabbed her wrist. "Touko, wait, I-"

She spun around and yanked her arm away from him. "I'm going to fix it, ok!" she shouted, her voice wavering. As quickly as was able, she drew the Poké Ball containing her Braviary and summoned it. It circled their heads. She made eye-contact with Cheren. He looked surprised at her sudden outburst, but said nothing as Braviary glided down and took hold of Touko's shoulders in its large avian feet, careful not to hurt her with its impressive talons.

As Touko got further away from little Nuvema Town, she wiped a tear from her cheek. He was right. Instead of doing something useful, this whole time she had been meeting with and daydreaming about the main person she was supposed to be fighting against...

Braviary let her down gently in front of the Pokémon Center of the bright Nimbasa City before being sent back into its Poké Ball. She placed it back into her bag and took a deep breath. N had told her to meet with him in front of the big Pikachu in East Nimbasa. The walk there might as well have been a trip across Skyarrow Bridge to her heavy heart; The seconds were like hours.

There he was, leaning nonchalantly against a streetlamp. Almost immediately she felt her heart rate increase ten fold. i_'No...!'_/iher mind screamed. She willed the beating in her chest to steady. _'This is why I have to...'  
><em>

"Touko...?"

Without her noticing, N had cleared the distance between them and was now standing directly in front of her. Taken by surprise, she backed away from him a few steps.

N tilted his head. He did that often when he didn't understand something. "You have something on your mind?" he questioned.

_Yeah, __**you**__! That's the problem,'_ she thought, biting her lip. How was she going to say this? Touko wished she had thought of something before hand. She took a few seconds to figure out what she was going to say, then opened her mouth to speak.


	2. What have I done?

_"I don't want to see you again."_

As soon as the words left Touko's mouth, she wished she could have pulled them right back. Although N's countenance was normally devoid of any emotion at all, he looked as if he had just been slapped right in the face. The look of hurt in his sky-blue eyes was enough to make maintaining eye contact with him painful.

"W-... what?" he breathed, thoroughly taken aback.

There was no turning back now. "When the time comes for me to battle you for the fate of Unova, then so be it. Until then, I will not continue to meet with you," Touko said, hands clenched at her sides in remorse. She hated speaking to him in this way. _'It's for the best,'_ she repeated to herself. She told herself that even though it was killing her now, she would eventually get over him and get on with her life.

"Did... I do something wrong...?" N asked in a small voice. She could no longer see his eyes under the bill of his black and white cap.

Touko flinched. The way he had spoken reminded her of a small child who was getting scolded for doing something he didn't know was bad. She was unsure of how to respond to his question. She looked down at her boots.

A terribly long, heavy, silence passed between them.

N turned his back to Touko. "I see..." he said finally. "I considered you my first human friend, Touko... It appears I made a mistake," he added coldly.

If her words had been like a slap in the face, his were a dagger, boring straight into her heart. She could only stand here, mouth agape, as N walked away. It took all of her might to keep herself from falling to her knees and crying.

* * *

><p>When Touko arrived back at Nuvema Town, she was met by a worried-looking Cheren. She could tell that he had been waiting for her to return. Her expression was blank as he approached. "Touko! Are you okay? What happened? I'm sor-"<p>

"I want to practice battling," she interrupted.

Cheren blinked. By the look on his face, he hadn't expected her to be the one asking him to battle. "Um, okay, but are you sure you'll be alright? You looked very upset before you left."

Why couldn't he mind his own business? She ignored his question. "Beloved!" she called.

Beloved dashed between her and Cheren, ready to battle.

"Call out your Pokémon!" she ordered him. Touko cursed to herself as tears began to blur her vision. She quickly wiped them away. She was not going to cry right here.

Cheren hesitantly complied, releasing his Liepard from its Poké Ball.

Something was wrong with Touko. She wasn't acting like her usual self. Even the way she was battling was off, he noticed, as Liepard and Beloved exchanged blows.

Liepard landed a critical hit on Beloved with Night Slash, sending the Delcatty hurdling through the air. It landed on its side with a thump.

As Beloved staggered to his feet, Cheren estimated that he would most likely go down with one more hit. He barely looked able to stand.

"Liepard, Slash!" he commanded. Liepard began closing in on Beloved. Touko would have to come up with some sort of counter attack if her Delcatty was going to survive this attack.

"Thunder Wave!" Touko shouted.

His Liepard did not try to avoid the attack. It didn't even slow down as it broke right through the Thunder Wave and dealt the final blow on its opponent.

With that Beloved was out for the count. He lay there fainted on the ground, Liepard standing triumphantly over him.

Cheren couldn't believe what he had just seen. "Liepard's ability is Limber, which prevents paralysis! You know that, Touko! What happened?"

Touko, again, remained silent. She pressed the opening mechanism on Beloved's Poké Ball, returning him. He was replaced with her Excadrill.

The rest of the battle was pretty much a repeat. She was making rookie mistakes- no, mistakes that she had never made even as a rookie. Her orders were careless. Something was obviously distressing her, and Cheren could tell that her Pokémon were picking up on it. Their movements were sloppy. What had happened while she was gone to make her like this?

He saw Touko grow increasingly frustrated as one by one her Pokémon were knocked out. When the last member of her team, Bisharp, was taken down, the battle was over. She had managed to defeat only two of his Pokemon. The look on her face was unreadable.

Cheren walked slowly towards her. "Touko... I've battled you countless times since the day we got our first Pokémon at the start of our journey, and never once have I managed to win... which is why I know something's up now that I have," he said, looking off to the side with a slight smile. Then his eyes switched back to her. "I don't know what happened, but... you look like you're about to _cry._"

"Please... leave me alone," Touko responded shakily, covering her eyes with one of her arms. Cheren watched as she took off in the direction of her house.

Touko slowed down as she entered the house. Her mother wasn't there. Good. She placed the Poké Balls containing her Pokémon on the counter so that when she got back, her mom would heal them. Then she climbed the stairs to her room, where she collapsed in her bed. She couldn't hold back the tears any longer. As they poured out of her eyes, she didn't bother trying to wipe them away this time. She curled up around her pillow, holding it close to her.

_"I considered you my first human friend, Touko... It appears I made a mistake."_

The words echoed in her head as if he were here now, repeating them. She hadn't expected them at all. She remembered how she could practically feel the waves of hurt emanating from him even as he said them with no emotion in his voice. Her decision had a greater effect on him than he had let on, she knew. It was the same with her. She had no idea she would feel this terrible. Touko had always seen N as fragile. Years of conditioning by Ghetsis had made it difficult for him to get his emotions across to anyone. But during the time she spent with him, she had learned him fairly well. Though his face usually remained blank, it was possible to read his feelings through his eyes and actions, if you payed attention. He had let the bill of his cap cover his face. Had he been crying? When he turned away from her, were there tears streaming down his face?

_'What have I done?'_


	3. A Sleepless Night

In the days that followed Touko's last encounter with N, she had been practically forcing Cheren to train with her, and almost nothing else. To her relief, he hadn't brought up the way she had acted to him on that day. She guessed that he was just happy to see that she felt better now. Well, acted like she did anyway. The reason why she insisted on doing so much training was because she was trying her best to forget about any feelings she had towards N. Feelings that no longer had any place, especially since they weren't even friends anymore. He was just the enemy now.

"That's enough training," Cheren decided, passing a rag over his forehead. His Serperior was adjacent to him, its heavy breathing was audible from where Touko stood several yards away with her Excadrill. They had been battling for hours.

"No way!" she objected. "Tomorrow is the day I have to face the Pokémon League, and if it comes down to it, N! If I don't succeed, humans will be separated from Pokémon! I can't just-"

"Which is why you need to rest. It's almost eleven. We're all exhausted, including you."

An irritated sigh escaped Touko's mouth. She hated when Cheren was right. Her limbs were aching and her eyelids felt heavy. She wasn't going to admit that to him, though. "I'm perfectly fine!" She followed Cheren as he began to walk back to Nuvema Town from where they were training in Route 1.

"Yeah, right," Cheren said sarcastically, pushing her hat down over her eyes. "Don't make me get your mother," he threatened with a smile.

Touko froze in the middle of fixing her cap. "That's low," she responded, but couldn't help returning the smile. Her mother had been complaining about how the amount of time she was training wasn't good for her. She would force her to come home for sure. "Fine, you win."

When she arrived home after parting ways with Cheren, Touko's mother was asleep on the couch. On the T.V. was the "What's That?" show with Watchy Watchog. She grabbed the remote and turned it off before going upstairs and taking a shower.

As soon as she had her sleeping clothes on- a black tank top and an old pair of shorts-, she hopped into bed and crawled under the covers. In a matter of seconds, Beloved had jumped up and curled into a ball near her head. His soft purring usually lulled her to sleep, but tonight, as exhausted as she felt, even that couldn't get her to close her eyes. Tomorrow she would see N. Was it possible to long for and dread something at the same time? Touko shifted, causing Beloved to lift his head. He looked up at her with big brown eyes. Lifting her covers, she slid to the edge of her bed and slipped her pink-laced boots onto her feet. _'Sorry, Cheren, but I can't sleep.'_

* * *

><p><em>BEEP... BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...<em>

Touko groggily reached for her alarm clock, but in her lethargy only succeeded in knocking it to the floor, where it continued its incessant racket.

"Dammit!" she cursed, yanking the alarm clock cord from its socket in the wall. As she moved to sit up, she became suddenly aware of the intense pain in her arms and legs when she moved them. When she managed to get up her whole body felt heavy. _'That's what battling in the Big Stadium 'till four o' clock will do to you,'_ she notioned, wincing as she got dressed and brushed her long brunette hair.

A knock on her door caused her to jump, which sent a jolt of pain through her muscles. "Touko, are you ready yet?" came the voice behind the door that was much too loud for this early in the morning. Bianca.

She carefully walked to the door and opened it to see Bianca's grinning face. How she managed to be so upbeat in the morning Touko would never know.

"Yikes, you look terrible!" Bianca observed.

"Thanks," mumbled Touko.

Bianca took her hand and dragged her down the stairs like a rag doll. "Come on, Touko, it's your big day!" she exclaimed, leading her out the door. Touko would have reminded her that she hadn't even had breakfast yet if she didn't think bringing a spoon to her face would be painful in her present state.

Cheren was waiting for them outside. Oh no. If Bianca was able to tell how exhausted she was, then it must be pretty obvious that she barely got any sleep last night. What would he say? She did her best to act wide awake despite her aching body disagreeing with her. "Good morning," she greeted him.

Cheren took a while to reply. He was looking right at her, she noticed nervously.

He turned to his Unfezant and patted it on the neck. "Morning. Let's head out."

Touko tried not to look relieved. If he had figured her out, he didn't give any sign of it.

The three of them rose into the air, each being carried my a Pokémon. Since Bianca lacked a flying Pokémon, Touko let her use one of her Volcarona.

"You three!"

Touko looked down in time to see Professor Juniper running from her lab. "Good luck!" she yelled. Touko smiled and waved at her.

* * *

><p>After what felt like a lifetime to Touko, the trio touched down in front of the Pokémon League. There was no need to go through the gates or Victory Road. They had already been through that at an earlier date. Touko covered her mouth as it opened in a huge yawn. She had almost fallen asleep in the talons of her Braviary.<p>

"Are you sure you'll make it? You seem really tired," said Bianca, giving her a worried look.

Touko nodded. "Well... this is goodbye for now..."

"Go get 'em, Touko!"

"Take care of yourself," Cheren advised. "Remember the strategies we went over?"

"Like they've been engraved into my brain," she laughed. "Relax, I'll be fine!"

As soon as she climbed the stairs into the room with the big statue and the gate behind her closed, locking her in, Touko's confidence diminished. She wasn't worried about the Elite Four, but about what would happen when she finally confronted N. Was he still hurt by what she said? Did he hate her? Another yawn caused Touko's thoughts to come back to the present. She would worry about N later. Right now she had to focus on _getting_ there.

* * *

><p>The Elite Four was a piece of cake with all the training she had done, but as time passed, Touko's whole body began to feel even heavier, and the aching of her muscles became almost unbearable. Climbing the seemingly endless stairs that led to the champion was like hell for her. She wondered for a brief moment if they, too, were some kind of ultimate test of endurance before brushing the thought away with a laugh. By the time she made it to the top her body felt like it was on fire. She was starting to really regret not listening to Cheren.<p>

Touko was startled by a loud yell from inside the champion's room. It sounded like Alder. Touko forced herself to run inside.

The scene she walked into was exactly as she had feared. Alder was out of breath on the ground. His Volcarona lay fainted by his side.

"Alder!" she cried, running to him.

"I-I... have failed," he huffed, clenching his fists against the ground. "I'm s-s..." With that he went unconscious.

"He put up a bigger fight than I expected," said a familiar voice from the other side of the room.

Forgetting her tiredness and the unconscious Alder, Touko slowly turned her head to the owner of the voice. She felt herself stop breathing.

"Hello, Touko," Addressed N, looking at her with an impersonal look in his eyes.

Touko gulped.


	4. Prelude to a Clash

At that moment Touko couldn't hate herself more. She hated how her heart, even now, leaped at the sight of him. She hated that the first thing that came to her mind was how attractive he was. Most of all, she despised how much she wanted so intensely to hug him tightly and tell him that she was sorry. She shook her head in an attempt to shake these thoughts away. _'Focus on what you came here for,'_ she reminded herself. She stood up from where she had been crouching over Alder, returning N's look with one of determination. "I'm going to stop you," she vowed, producing Beloved's Poké Ball from her bag and enlarging it. Through the transparent red lid she glimpsed the Prim Pokémon shooting N a look of defiance.

N's mouth twitched. "You can put away your claws," he sneered at her. "This is no place for a battle of such caliber."

Touko had not been expecting such a rude tone from N. Her eyes narrowed. If he was going to be a baby about the whole thing, it was fine by her. It's not like she actually cared anymore...

Out of nowhere the ground started to shake as something large crashed its way into the room, completely destroying a whole section of the wall. Touko lost her balance and fell to the ground. A loud CRACK brought her attention to one of the giant supports. It had completely broken off and was now plummeting down. Directly at her.

Perhaps the best reaction would have been to bring out a Pokémon that could save her, but Touko was too frozen with fear to even move. As the pillar came closer and closer to her, she cringed and closed her eyes, fully prepared to be crushed under its formidable weight.

There was the sound of claws scraping at the ground before Touko felt herself being lifted in a pair of furry arms. She kept she eyes closed out of fear, but hung on to her rescuer for dear life. Not until an ear-splitting crash sounded from somewhere behind them did she dare open her eyes to find she was next to N, in the arms of his Zoroark. It gently put her down, where she collapsed on the ground, still in shock. There was silence as she stayed like that for a few more seconds, staring at the ground, her body shaking. On her whole adventure, never once had she come so close to death.

Out of the corner of her eye, she sighted N kneeling down next to her. "Touko... are you hurt?"

She looked up and their blue gazes locked. N looked almost as shaken up as she was. She saw in his eyes a mixture of horror, guilt, relief, pain, and something else she couldn't quite place. She was surprised to see all of those emotions so strongly in him; The intensity of his gaze forced her to avert her eyes. "I'm f-... fine," she stammered, brushing herself off and standing up. She hadn't fully recovered from her near-death experience, but she couldn't stay there all day.

"So... what is that thing?" she asked, gesturing to the massive object that had busted through the wall.

"That would be my castle, which doubles as the Team Plasma Headquarters. This is where I was born and raised as a king... and given the task of liberating Pokémon from their trainers," spoke N. He was looking directly at her. "It is also the location our final battle will be held."

Touko held Beloved's Poké Ball firmly.

"I will be waiting at the top. I have instructed my grunts to allow you free rein. No one should try to stop you," he informed over his shoulder as he ascended the stairs into his castle.

When he disappeared inside, Touko was once again left to her thoughts. What was with that look he had given her? She placed a hand over her madly beating heart. Oh, how she wished it would stop doing that! She clutched her chest.

A groan from behind her made Touko spin around. Alder had come to and was struggling to stand. She hurried to him to try and help, but by the time she had reached him he was already up. He was staring in awe at the gargantuan structure that was N's Castle. "What happened, exactly?" he asked, bewildered.

Touko explained to him everything that had happened while he was unconscious, leaving out the part where she had almost died.

When she was done, Alder appeared to be deep in thought. "Looks like there's no escaping it. Because of my failure, you will have to battle him now. You must triumph where I have failed. I believe you can do it, otherwise I would not have trusted you to be here now. You did, after all, defeat the Elite Four."

"Touko!"

Her eyes darted to the entrance where Cheren was now running at her. He didn't give the wrecked room or N's Castle a second look, but was only concerned with her, she marked, smiling. Upon him making it to her, they immediately exchanged one of their one-armed hugs.

"Is it over?" he asked, regaining his composure.

"Not yet. I have to battle N... in his castle."

A look of understanding crossed Cheren's face as he seemed to just notice Alder's condition and his motionless Volcarona. "If anyone besides the champion can defeat N, I know it's you, Touko."

Touko gave an anxious glance at the ominous castle. She had to preserve the bond that thousands of trainers had with their Pokémon. She had to defeat N, who was trying with all his might to sever those bonds. She hoped to God she had it in her to shatter the dream he had borne since he was small.


	5. Truth and Ideals

Touko had never been in another place _quite_ like N's Castle. With its long, identical, corridors and many rooms, Touko didn't waste any time getting hopelessly and irrefutably lost. How the hell did N expect her to suddenly know her way around this god-forsaken place? She couldn't tell where she had been from where she hadn't. It had crossed her mind to ask one of the grunts for directions to the top, but she noticed them giving her ugly looks and decided against that.

Fed up with wandering around alone, Touko allowed Beloved to leave his Poké Ball. The Delcatty explored the castle with excitement and curiosity, poking his head into almost every open door and sniffing intently at the closed ones. They were almost all filled with grunts who regarded her with hostility. i_'I don't want to be here any more than they want me to,'_/i she thought, making a face at a group of them that were whispering amongst each other and casting glances in her direction, then chucking as they fumed. It wasn't like they could do anything about it anyways.

The sound of claws on wood drew Touko's eyes to Beloved. He was dragging his claws down a door that looked no different from any of the others. He left long, deep, scratch-marks.

"Stop that!" she scolded, taking his paws and moving them away from the door. "N was trusting enough to let us in here without an escort, and here you are destroying things!"

Beloved ignored her and switched to rubbing himself against the same door and purring loudly.

"You want me to open this?" she asked her purple and cream friend.

Beloved nodded, his purring increasing in volume.

Touko looked around to see if anyone was watching her. There were no grunts around, so she figured it would be safe to have a look inside. She opened the door as quietly as she could.

"The _hell_?" she breathed, beholding a sight that had been far from what she was expecting. The light blue floor was decorated with fluffy white clouds, and the walls were checkered pink and white. Toys of various types and sizes were strewn all over the place. To the left of her was a little play basket ball court. Directly in front of her was a big ramp of some sort. Evidently she had walked into a child's playroom. _'Does this belong to N?_' Some of the toys looked recently played with. She had to stop herself from going into a fit of hysterical laughter at the thought of N, old enough to be considered an adult, pushing around a toy car and making vrooming noises with his mouth. _'He really is just like a kid...'_ she mused with an uncontrollable grin.

"Let's go," she said, heading for the door.

Beloved somehow managed to get his paws on a Rare Candy. He gulped it down before following her. When he wasn't destroying doors, he was stealing treats. Beloved really was a handful, but she loved him all the same.

Touko had just made it out of the playroom and closed the door when three identical black-clad silver-haired guys seemed to materialize out of thin air around her, scaring her half to death. "Stop doing that!" she stormed at the Shadow Triad, trying to get her nerves back under control.

"Our Lord N is becoming impatient..." said one of them.

"He thought that maybe you were lost..." hissed another.

"But it appears you have just been doing some snooping..." came the third.

Without warning they began to move in a close triangle around her, forcing her to walk with them. As they herded her through the complex maze of hallways, Touko managed to get a peek at Beloved. He was being forced along just like her by two Herdier and a Watchog. He didn't look at all happy with their proximity to him. She felt the same way about the Shadow Triad.

An abrupt halt caused her to bump clumsily into the back of the leading one.

"S-sorry!" she apologized, backing up, only to bump into the other two behind her. None of them made the slightest bit of a reaction.

"Lord N is at the top of these stairs..."

"He is ready for you..."

"Do not keep him waiting any longer..."

The leading Triad stepped out of the way, allowing her to climb the stairs that would lead her to N. Beloved was also released. He took care not to leave them without giving one of the Herdier a good whack in the face with his tail. Beloved now at her side, she began to go up the stairs. A quick look behind her told Touko that the Triad and their Pokémon were gone, supposedly dissipated into thin air.

She took a deep breath as she entered what appeared to be a throne room. The whole section of floor she was standing on was a raised platform with royal-looking porcelain tile. Ahead of her the platform thinned out into a walkway leading up to a majestic throne. Perched there, was none other than N. Sitting in his throne somehow gave him a more regal appearance; It was the first time Touko thought he actually looked like a king― but sitting in a throne could make anyone look like royalty, she supposed.

"You took your sweet time getting here," he commented, leaning forward. "Want to tell me exactly what you were doing in my castle?"

"Getting lost," she retorted indignantly. Did he really suspect her of mischief? With all the time they had spent together, she expected him to know her better than that.

N stood up and crossed the walkway, stopping when he was exactly opposite her on the wide part of the platform. "The time for my dream to be realized is nigh. My entire life up to now has been for this moment... for a world where Pokémon will no longer be confined to Poké Balls, where their voices cannot be heard. A world where they will not be pitted against each other for the amusement of their 'trainers.' They will be complete, perfect, beings, free of the shackles that humans have bound them with! I will be the hero that separates humans and Pokémon from their trainers. It will start in Unova, but I will spread my influence to the other regions as well, and―"

"Not if I can help it!" she interrupted as Beloved took his place in front of her. Even his stance was filled with pure resolve. "Pokémon and people are friends! Why can't you see that? Pokémon grow stronger through humans, and vice versa. We help each other in achieving our goals! When I started my journey, I was nothing but a shy, average little girl. Look at me now, N! I became the person I am because while I was helping my Pokémon obtain strength through battling, at the same time they were helping me by giving me courage and confidence. They are my precious family. Which is why I will do everything in my power to stop you. I won't sit back and let you separate me from my family!" Touko could feel her eyes begin to water. With her arm she wiped at them, still out of breath from her speech.

N's look was one of bewilderment. His eyes darted from her to Beloved. All was silent. Was Beloved speaking to him? Touko waited for N to speak, afraid of interrupting.

"Your Pokémon trusts you with all his heart. He says that he also thinks of you as a dear family member... He also says he hates me... for giving you pain..." He looked back at her, sympathy filled those pretty blue eyes of his. "I caused you pain?"

Beloved said that? She looked at the ground, purposely avoiding looking N in the eye. She knew her face was turning red. "I, um..." was the only thing she could say.

"While I do regret having to separate you from your Pokémon as well, Touko, it can't be helped. I know how much you care about them, but... I made a promise to Team Plasma and to Ghetsis. They are counting on my to make my dream― our dream― a reality. I can't back down now."

"I understand," she replied. "Just like the trainers of Unova are counting on me."

N raised one hand into the air. "Reshiram! Come to me!" he called.

In a matter of seconds the White Warrior came crashing through the wall. What was with N and things crashing through walls anyway? The dragon had broken the beautiful throne to bits. In its place was a gaping hole where Touko could see the sky.

Reshiram landed gracefully next to N, its beautiful white wings spread out on either side. As soon as she got a close look at it she knew she wouldn't be able to defeat it with any Pokémon on her team. i_'But... I dont have Zekrom...'_/i

"Will you present the Black Warrior?" N asked, patting Reshiram.

Touko was about to admit to him that she hadn't been able to awaken Zekrom, when she felt something warm in her bag. She reached into it and withdrew the Dark Stone. It crackled with blue electricity as it rose into the air and began to glow. She gasped as the stone became a Pokémon black as night. Where Reshiram was elegant-looking, this Pokémon was more sturdy. As opposed to the White Warrior's magnificent wings, the Pokémon had strong-looking arms. A pair of black featherless wings sprouted on its back. It roared as its feet made contact with the ground, causing it to shake a bit.

"It seems Zekrom has reawakened in resonance to Reshiram," N informed. "So I made the right decision after all in choosing you as the other hero..."

Zekrom's massive head lowered to where it was level with her. Its red eyes seemed to bore into her. Touko tentatively reached out her hand and placed it on the Deep Black Pokémon's snout. It emitted a low rumbling sound, but did not attack or pull away.

"Will you fight with me?" she asked it.

Zekrom threw its head back in another roar, turning to face N and Reshiram. Eyes of red met eyes of blue as the two towering Pokémon glared at each other. She was no N, but Touko was pretty sure that was a yes. She pulled out her PokéDex for a list of moves that Zekrom knew.

"Are you ready, Touko?" N called.

"As I'll ever be," she replied. She noticed the rest of N's Pokémon make their way into the center of the platform. So this was going to be an all-out brawl. She released her team from their Poké Balls and at once they charged at N's. In no time Beloved was up against N's Zoroark, her Excadrill against his Kinklang, her Bisharp against his Carracosta, her Braviary against his Archeops, and her Samurott against his Vanilluxe. They were all battling fiercely.

Both Zekrom and Reshiram launched themselves into the air and collided in an explosion of flames and electricity. Touko was amazed at their incredible prowess. She could feel the intensity of each collision even from where she stood. The two seemed on par with each other in terms of strength.

"Fusion Flare!" commanded N, narrowly dodging a stray shot from Excadrill's Rock Slide. Reshiram shot from its mouth a small bright ball of flame that floated lazily above them. When it was high enough, it stopped and immediately grew bigger in size. The time it took for the attack to go from stationary to barreling down into Zekrom was incredible. The black dragon was knocked out of the air in the blink of an eye. The Pokémon battling below scattered as Zekrom hit the platform and slid back, leaving a trail of broken tile. When they came back together, they switched opponents.

If Touko was going to win this, she would have to get her act together. This was not something so simple as a Pokémon battle; It was a battle of convictions. The victor would ultimately be the one that held the stronger belief.

"Fusion Bolt!" The attack, similar in execution to Fusion Flare, struck true to its target. Reshiram came spiraling down. Zekrom closed the space between them instantly and began assaulting it with a barrage of Slash and Zen Headbutt attacks. Because Zekrom had the higher attack power, it was at an advantage in close-range combat.

N told Reshiram to use Extrasensory. Touko's vision of Zekrom became twisted and contorted; She heard it roar in pain. "Zekrom!" she cried. "Quickly, use Dragon Breath!"

Zekrom exhaled a mighty breath that sent white feathers flying in all directions and stopped Reshiram's Extrasensory attack. Zekrom and Reshiram landed back in front of their respective heroes.

"Fusion Bolt!" she ordered. A blue ball of electricity shot into the air.

"Reshiram, dodge!"

_"Come on..."_ Touko prayed under her breath. She saw Reshiram move to dodge and then stop in its tracks. _'Yes!'_ Her plan worked! The Dragon Breath had left Reshiram paralyzed. Fusion Bolt landed a critical hit, smashing the opposing dragon hard into the ground. Reshiram's cry of defeat echoed throughout the room. When the smoke cleared, the Pokémon lay limp, its eyes closed.

Touko scanned her surroundings. All of N's team were out cold. Beloved and Bisharp limped towards her, clearly spent.

She chanced a glance at N. Again, his cap was blocking her view of his eyes. His mouth hung open as if words were caught in his throat. She didn't need to see his eyes or hear is voice to know that he was heartbroken.

"N... It's over."


	6. Not a Goodbye

"My... dream..." whispered N. His body was hunched over as if he had actually been dealt some kind of physical hurt. "I wasn't strong enough..." His voice was shaking.

Touko felt awful. Even though she had won, she just couldn't be happy about it. She knew she should be celebrating right now, but seeing N like that was killing her. He looked so pitiable... She wanted to comfort him.

"N..." she said softly, walking carefully up to him.

No response.

She lightly placed her hand on his cheek and pushed his face up so that his eyes were looking into hers. He flinched at her touch, but did not resist. "N, you-"

"Get away from him!" Roared a voice from off to the side.

Ghetsis roughly snatched her by the shoulder and threw her to the ground. She watched N's hands go up to cover his face as the older green-haired man faced him, enraged.

"You worthless boy! Do you think you are still worthy of sharing the name of Harmonia with me after today? You are an utter failure!" Then Ghetsis's voice went a kind of sinister calm. "Move your hands N," he ordered.

Touko could see with fear in N's eyes. He hesitated at first, but obeyed, lowering his arms and shutting his eyes tight.

No sooner than he had, did Ghetsis bring his hand hard across his face.

Touko's own hand covered her mouth in alarm as N was repeatedly and relentlessly slapped by the man that was his father. He made no attempt to protect himself or move away, but stood there, taking each blow without even a cry of pain.

"What are you doing! Stop!" she cried, floundering to her feet. The only three Pokémon she had left were Beloved, Bisharp, and Zekrom, but they were all exhausted. She would have to do something on her own. She grabbed one of Ghetsis's arms, but was quickly thrown off.

"You!" he yelled, glaring at her, his onslaught on N momentary stopped. "Mind your own business! You are the reason he must be punished, stupid girl! Thanks to you, my original plan is ruined!" Ghetsis raised his fist, and Touko was sure he had the intention of hitting her with it this time.

"Touko!" shouted a familiar voice. It was Cheren. He and Alder had arrived just in time. They were both huffing as if they had run the whole way through the castle. Cheren's Unfezant swooped down, knocking Ghetsis's fist away from her just as it was coming down. Touko ran to meet Cheren and Alder. "Thanks," she said to Cheren when she had made it.

Cheren's eyes were fixed on Ghetsis. "Did he hurt you?"

"No... but N..." She looked across the room at him. Both of his cheeks were red from Ghetsis's slapping, though he gave no indication that he was actually feeling any pain. Was he used to being slapped by Ghetsis? She noticed that he was staring at his father with wide, fearful, eyes. Touko understood. This wasn't the first time Ghetsis had lost his temper at N and did something like this to him. It most likely happened every time N did something wrong. She had known Ghetsis was despicable, but she no idea...

Ghetsis looked at her, Cheren, and Alder with contempt. "You all think you have won, I suppose? I brought up my son around nothing but Pokémon that had been abused for the sole purpose of absolute power. I care not about Pokémon or how their trainers treat them. That was I lie I used to get this fool-" He gestured to N- "to do my bidding. I wanted to be the only person with Pokémon so everyone would be forced to obey me! It was the only reason he was born, yet he is a failure! He was his own downfall; He insisted that he had to put his beliefs on the line and lost to an ordinary trainer! He is no more than a warped, defective boy who understands nothing but Pokémon... He's barely even human. I was wrong to trust him with defeating you. I will personally deal with you here, since you know about my plan."

N's countenance went completely blank as he stared down at the ruined tile on the floor. For once Touko couldn't tell how he was feeling at all. Even his blue eyes looked dull and lifeless. _Oh, N...'_ She couldn't take this anymore.

"You're wrong about him!" she blurted, surprising everyone. "He's more human than you ever were! N is kind, compassionate, and the purest person I have ever seen, which I think is amazing... considering he has a father like you! How can you say such things about your own son?"

"You know nothing," replied Ghetsis, withdrawing a Poké Ball from under his robe. "You have no Pokémon strong enough to put up a fight against me. What will you do?"

Touko felt something furry on her legs. She looked down to see Beloved rubbing against them, looking as healthy as he would after a visit to the Pokémon Center. There was a flash of red up above. Her Braviary, who had been fainted the last time she saw it, landed gracefully on the floor next to her, its feathers glossy. Touko watched in amazement as one by one her Pokémon crowded around her in perfect condition. You would never have been able to tell they were in a vicious battle only minutes ago.

"But how...?" she asked, crouching down to give Beloved a hug. "Cheren? Alder? Did you...?" They both shook their heads, just as confused as she was. "Then who...?" Her gaze wandered over to N. Although he didn't meet her eyes, Touko was sure that he was the one who had done this. She smiled slightly, standing up.

"You were saying, Ghetsis?"

* * *

><p>"What! I created Team Plasma with my own hands. I'm absolutely perfect. I am perfection! I am the perfect ruler of a perfect new world!" wailed Ghetsis after he had lost.<p>

Cheren pushed his glasses up, impervious to the condemned man's cries. "I'll take him to the authorities, if you want," he offered.

Touko smiled. "Thank you for always having my back," she said hugging him.

He hugged her back. "What would you do without me?" he laughed, going to subdue Ghetsis. His smile vanished when he got close to N. He didn't even look up as Cheren led his father away.

Alder stepped up. "I'll help Cheren with this one," he announced, falling into step with her childhood friend. As they passed, Alder leaned toward her. "I'm going to leave the boy to you."

Ghetsis laughed hysterically. "Since I couldn't become the hero and obtain the legendary Pokémon myself... I prepared someone for that purpose-N! He's nothing more than a freak without a human heart. Do you think you're going to get through to a warped person like that!" His voice seemed to echo in the destroyed room. With that, Ghetsis, Cheren, and Alder were gone, leaving her alone with N.

There was an awkward silence as neither one of them attempted to say anything to each other. Touko thought that this room must represent N's world right now; broken and crumbled.

"Goodbye, Touko..." she heard N say as he turned around and walked in the direction of the hole Reshiram had made where his throne used to be. She spotted Reshiram waiting for its trainer there.

Suddenly, Touko's heart raced. He was leaving? Tears welled up in her eyes at the thought of N leaving and her never seeing him again. Almost on their own accord, her legs carried her to the green-haired young man, where she threw her arms around him from behind. N stopped moving and she felt his body tense. Her tears stained the back of his shirt as she nestled her face into his back, his long green hair off to the side.

"Don't leave...!" she sobbed frantically, her embrace tightening.

"Because of me, so many people and Pokémon were almost hurt. I-...I helped him. If you hadn't stopped us all of Unova would be under his control, and... It would have been my fault," he said, shaking his head. His voice was barely more than a whisper.

"No! It's not your fault. For the sake of Pokémon... for their sake, you dedicated your life to Team Plasma's cause. It wasn't for Ghetsis. It wasn't even for yourself! You heard the pain in their voices when no one else could, and wanted to help them. Ghetsis took advantage of that... He is the villain, not you! Please, stay!"

"Touko... I have nothing. There's nothing left anchoring me to this world."

N's words triggered a thought that hadn't occurred to Touko before. It was a thought that made the tears pour even more rapidly from her eyes. While she was always surrounded by friends and people who cared about her... the only person N had was Ghetsis, the monster that was using him. _'I pushed him away...'_ She felt like the worst kind of person. Why hadn't she realized it?

"I'm so sorry... When I said that I didn't want to see you again, I didn't mean it, I was just... under a lot of pressure from the whole situation. Never once did I actually think that way. I'm sorry for hurting you..."

N was silent.

"You say you have nothing," continued Touko, her arms shifting a bit from where they were crossed over N's chest. "but... you have me, N. I don't know if you have forgiven me, but I think of you as an irreplaceable friend... and would be very sad if you left." Touko felt tiny droplets fall on her arm, which told her that N was crying as well.

As she waited for N to speak, suddenly her fatigue caught up with her. Her vision became unfocused. She tried to blink it back to normal, but with each blink, her eyelids became heavier and heavier. She leaned more against N as she drifted off into a deep sleep...

"Touko?" spoke N, noticing her body going limp against his back. He turned slowly and carefully around so as not to make her fall, and sat down on the ground, holding her in his arms. She was asleep. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised. She looked exhausted when he first saw her at the Pokémon League, and she had been through a lot since then. He had put her through a lot.

Occupying himself with tenderly wiping the tears from her face with his hand, N became aware of the tears that were streaming down from his own eyes. He was crying? He dabbed curiously at his face with the back of his hand. He couldn't remember the last time he had shed tears. It was sometime when he was very young...

N gently brushed to the side a strand of Touko's hair that had been in her face. She didn't know how much her words had meant to him. It made him so happy to know that she cared about him enough to even cry over him. No one had ever spoken to him like she did, and no one had ever put their arms around him with such warmness.

He blinked as he found himself cuddling her like he would a Pokémon. He immediately stopped, his face growing hot.

"Reshiram," he called, careful not to be too loud. The Vast White Pokémon came over in response to its name, and lowered its body to allow them to board it. N lifted Touko up first before quickly sliding on behind her so she could lean against him and not fall off.

_"Where to?"_ asked Reshiram, spreading its wings.

"Nuvema Town... I have to bring her home."


	7. Chapter 7

_My whole body aches... It feels as if I've been running for a day..._

_My head feels foggy... Is there something important I'm forgetting?_

_And what's this heavy feeling in my chest?_

Touko slowly sat up, every inch of her screaming in protest. She squinted her eyes as light from her open window met them. _Weird... I never open that window...'_ Her mother must have thought she needed some fresh air or something. She quickly shrugged the thought off. She crawled out of bed and noticed she was still in her shorts, tank-top, and vest. She probably was too tired after training yesterday to change. She stumbled into her bathroom for a quick shower. That out of the way, she put on some clean clothes identical to the ones she had just changed out of, and walked down the stairs, ignoring the pain in her legs.

Her mother looked up as Touko entered. "Ah, good to see you're finally awake, Dear!" she said, smiling. "Cheren wanted you to call him as soon as you woke up."

She nodded and sat on the couch, scrolling to find Cheren's name on her Xtransceiver. Why did he want her to call him? What couldn't possibly wait until they met?

Cheren's face popped up on the screen of the Xtransceiver. "Good evening, Touko. How are you feeling?"

"Sore."

"That's understandable."

"So... what did you want to talk about?"

"What happened after Alder and I left yesterday?"

"What?"

"Did that N guy say anything about where he might be going?"

"..."

Memories of the day before flooded over Touko: Beating the Pokémon League. Team Plasma's castle. Defeating N and Ghetsis... N's goodbye.

"Touko? Are you listening?" said Cheren impatiently.

She pressed a button on her Xtransceiver and the screen went blank. Tears threatened her eyes once again as she recalled the conversation she had had with N after Cheren and Alder went to turn Ghetsis in. N left her. That bastard. After everything she said to him, he still...

Touko buried her face into her knees so she could pretend like she was just tired and her mother wouldn't notice the tears sliding down her cheeks. After all, she wasn't the type to cry in front of people if it could be helped, not even her own mom. She wasn't a weak little girl anymore, and she refused to be seen as such.

"Everyone was worried about you," said her mother, who was too busy getting ready to leave to look at her daughter. "You just walked right in without a word to anybody and got in bed. I must have been taking a nap when you walked in, because I went up to your room to tidy it up for you, and lo and behold, there you were, tucked neatly under your blanket! Anyways, I'll go tell everyone that you're up and okay. See you later, Kiddo!"

Touko heard the front door close, signaling her mother had exited. She allowed herself to fall over, her knees still close to her body. The tears now trailed sideways into the soft beige fabric of the couch. She most certainly was not okay. She cared so deeply about N, and now he was gone, and without even telling her if he'd ever come back. Had what she said meant anything at all?

_Tap tap tap_

She ignored the sound. It was probably a Pidove making a nuisance of itself at her window. She didn't feel like dealing with it right now.

_TAP TAP TAP_

Stupid Pidove. Couldn't it see she was busy wallowing in self-pity?

_TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP_

Okay, something was definitely trying to get her attention. She rolled off the couch, pausing to pull herself together and quickly remove any tears that were on her face. She hurried over to the window and opened it, looking down.

It was just as she had thought. A Pidove stared up at her from the ground with tiny yellow eyes. It flapped its wings urgently as she sighed and moved to close the window again.

Then something happened that took Touko completely by surprise. It was only for a moment, but she could have sworn that the Pidove became much larger and sprouted long arms and legs tipped with sharp red claws. From its canine-like head grew a long red and black mane. _Zoroark._ When she blinked, there was once again a simple Pidove.

Touko sped to the door, tripping and knocking over a flower vase in the process. She cursed as it hit the floor with a loud shattering sound, its contents of soil, water, and flowers splattering all over the place. Bits of broken glass were scattered about, glistening in the light. She picked herself up and ran out the door, not even bothering to stop and put her boots or socks on. She would worry about the mess later.

Still under its Pidove illusion, Zoroark hopped up and down when it saw her before flying off in the direction of the sea.

She followed it until it took a sudden dive and disappeared underneath the railed wooden protrusion that was built when she was little after Bianca had fallen into the sea while they were playing and almost drowned. She leaned over the rail. From what she could make out there was a stretch of land beneath her that looked to be only a couple of centimeters under water. Someone would be able to walk on it and only have the bottom of their feet get wet.

Touko let Braviary out of its Poké Ball, and instructed it to lower her onto the land below. She winced as her bare feet met the salty ocean water. Looking down, she saw blood wisping into the shallow water from the underside of her feet. Crap. In her excitement she had stepped on pieces of the vase she broke and hadn't noticed. She decided that it wasn't worth going back for and continued on, despite the burning in her feet.

"Touko, over here," said someone with a hushed tone from a little further ahead of her. She knew that voice anywhere. Her heart lurched as a green-haired young man stepped out from behind one of the beams supporting the overhead protuberance. He looked somewhat on-edge, she couldn't help but notice.

She ran to him, her feet making soft splashing noises, and hugged him tightly. He once again tensed at her embrace, and seemed to hold his breath. Was she making him uncomfortable? She let go and stepped awkwardly away, twirling a bit of her hair with a finger. "Sorry... It's just that I thought you were gone and I wouldn't be able to see you again... I'm really happy you decided to stay." She hoped her face wasn't as red as his was.

N avoided looking at her, a slight smile on his lips. "I-It's okay... I'm not used to it, is all..." In his rather adorable attempt to avoid eye-contact with her, his gaze fell to her feet. "You're hurt..."

"Oh, this? I can barely even feel it." She forced herself not to wince as she shifted her weight. When N looked doubtful, she changed the subject. "Where are you staying?" she asked.

"Undella," he replied, kicking some water up.

Touko's jaw dropped. "It's crazy expensive to stay there!" she exclaimed.

N chuckled. "It's no problem. I took quite a bit of money from the castle."

There was a scream from up above, which informed Touko that her mother had returned home.

N looked alarmed.

"It's okay!" she assured him. "I kinda broke something on accident when I saw your Zoroark. My mom must've see it... I have to go N."

N gave a disappointed look, but nodded.

As she turned to leave, she felt him gently grab her arm. "I'd like it if you came and visited me."

"Of course," she promised.

Her Braviary was waiting in the same spot it had placed her. When she approached, it flapped its wings and grabbed her shoulders and lifted her into the air. Looking down, she saw N surfing away on the back of his Carracosta. He waved to her, smiling. Touko waved back. She was sure she hadn't ever seen him smile before today. She liked his smile.

Touko had Braviary make a wide circle around Nuvema Town so it would look like she came from Route 1, then landed, letting out a sigh of pain as the tiny bits of glass in her feet cut deeper.

All at once her mother was upon her, holding her in one of her death hugs. "Thank goodness you're safe! We were just about to call the police! When I walked into the house and saw the smashed vase and blood on the floor, I thought someone had kidnapped you!"

From over her mother's shoulder she viewed Cheren and Bianca dashing in her direction. Bianca was bawling her eyes out and Cheren's face lit up with relief when he saw her.

"Guys, really... I'm okay. I was playing with Beloved in the house and it got a bit out of hand. I broke the vase, then stepped on some of the broken glass and didn't notice at first. I went to see if I could find another just like it, but had no such luck. Sorry, Mom."

"Without shoes...?" Cheren murmured under his breath. He flashed her a look that said: "You'd better tell me what _really_ happened later." She cursed his powers of perception.

Touko's mother ceased the death hold she had trapped her daughter in. "Oh, Touko, don't worry about the vase. Cheren, Bianca, will you take her to the house while I go buy something to disinfect her cuts with? There hasn't been an accident around here since you guys left on your journeys..."

Touko inwardly groaned, not looking forward to explaining herself to Mr. Brainiac. The three of them walked in silence to her house. Well, almost silence. Bianca's sniffling and hiccuping could be heard as she followed closely behind. It always took her forever to calm down after crying.

As soon as Touko had situated herself on the couch, Cheren was next to her, his dark blue gaze burning into her.

"So what happened?" he inquired.

He sure wasn't the type to beat around the bush. Touko considered making up another lie to satisfy him, but she knew he would not be fooled. He could see right through her. It was almost unfair how good he was at that.

"I... I met with N..."

Cheren's eyes widened in disbelief.

"I know what you're about to say, but N is a very nice person!" she defended. "He won't try anything, I'm sure of it!"

Cheren shook his head and grabbed a handful of his hair. "What is wrong with you? How can you forgive him after everything he's done? He came _this_ close to taking your Pokémon from you, along with everyone else's. You can't trust him!"

"You heard what Ghetsis said!" Touko countered, scooting away so that she could face him. "It wasn't N's fault, he was being used, and-"

"Ghetsis escaped from prison," Cheren cut in, causing her to shut up completely.

"No way!" she exclaimed once she could speak again. "How...?"

"The Triad helped him. This is what I was trying to tell you before you hung up on me earlier. The Police are looking everywhere for him... and that's not all," he responded, his voice matter-of-fact.

"They want N, too."


	8. Chapter 8

"You can't be serious!" Touko expressed, standing up only to fall back onto the couch because of the sharp pain in her feet. "Ghetsis was the mastermind behind the whole mess!"

"That may be true, but N was the king of Team Plasma. Therefore, he is to be held accountable for their actions. Alder argued his case the best he could, but the authorities were adamant on the matter. If N is caught, he will go to prison, and there's nothing you can do about it. I must advise you to stay away from him; you'll just get dragged into it. Being around him will bring nothing but unnecessary trouble," he stated, lacking any sort of compassion whatsoever.

She glared at Cheren. "How can you be so insensitive? N had no idea of his father's scheming! Ever since he was little he was fed lies about trainers abusing their Pokémon. He was only trying to help them!"

Cheren adjusted his glasses. "That doesn't change the fact that it was N who ordered his followers to do everything they did."

"He was misguided! He meant no evil."

"Why do you care so much?" asked Cheren, narrowing is eyes.

So this was her old childhood friend. Why hadn't she noticed how crass he was before? Was he always like this, or had he picked it up during his journey? In all the years she had known him, he had never acted this way before, not around her. She actually wanted to slap him.

When he got no response, Cheren stood up and walked to the door. "If you keep meeting with him- and trust me, I'll know if you do- I will not hesitate to contact the police and inform them that you know where he is." With that he was gone, leaving Touko to stare at the spot he had been with blatant animosity.

She couldn't believe he had just threatened her. Who did he think he was, her mother?

Bianca, who had been observing quietly, finally decided to speak up. "Cheren really cares about you, you know... That's the only reason he's acting like that."

"I don't want to hear it."

"He's just trying to protect you because you're like a sister to him, Touko," pleaded Bianca.

"Listen, if you're going to keep talking about him, then you can go ahead and leave, too," Touko spat irritatedly, not caring that she was now taking her anger out on Bianca.

With a hurt look, Bianca also left, slamming the door behind her. A few seconds later, it opened again and her mom walked in looking confused.

"What did I miss?" she questioned, a bag on the table in front of Touko. "I just saw Bianca run out of here looking pretty upset, and you look like you're ready to kill someone! Did you and Cheren have another fight?"

It was true that a quarrel between her and Cheren wasn't a rare occurrence at all. When it did happen, they usually didn't talk to each other for a few days, but afterwards, things went back to normal. This was not one of those times. Cheren had threatened the police against her just for seeing N. That wasn't something she was going to just get over in a matter of days. That was the kind of thing that makes people no longer friends.

"It's nothing," she answered bitterly.

* * *

><p>Beloved's brown eyes sleepily followed Touko as she moved quickly and quietly around her room, grabbing things and stuffing them into bags. It was so early in the morning that the sun wasn't even out yet. The moon and stars stood out brightly against the dark sky outside. Zekrom would be able to fly easily without being spotted.<p>

_'Forget Cheren,'_ she thought, shoving some clothes into a bag. She recollected seeing N walk down the path leading to the hole in the wall where his throne once stood. He seemed to radiate loneliness. She was not going to abandon him, no matter what Cheren or anyone else thought.

Touko sat on the edge of her bed and examined her now bandaged feet. They still hurt, but thanks to her mom, the pain was bearable. She slipped them into her boots and went to the window, where Zekrom was waiting for her to climb on. She threw her two bags out first then stepped down onto Zekrom's sturdy back.

Beloved jumped out of the window and curled up in her lap when she had sat down. She wasn't very fond of Beloved being in her lap. After all, he wasn't as small as he had been when he was a Skitty. _'I suppose it's okay...'_ she thought, stroking his creamy fur.

"Take me to Undella, please," she directed, and immediately she felt wind rushing past her as Zekrom took off.

* * *

><p>Touko had Zekrom land at Undella Bay, where it would be out of sight in case anyone were to look out. It let out a low cry as she climbed down from its back.<p>

"Stay here and keep quiet," she said before walking into town.

The only thing that could be heard as Touko made her way over to the houses was the lapping of waves against the shore. She breathed out a sigh. Now she was faced with a new problem. _'Which house is his?'_

She was about to pick a door and knock on it when someone spoke from behind her.

"I haven't seen you around here before," said a female voice.

Touko spun quickly around to find a black-clad woman with long blonde hair. The woman gave her a friendly smile. Behind her was a huge Garchomp that struck Touko as kind of scary, especially in the dark, where the moonlight made its fearsome white teeth gleam.

"Oh- err... I was just looking for someone that lives here," she stammered, trying not to look suspicious, which she feared made her look even more so.

"Ah!" exclaimed the woman. "If that's the case, then why don't you describe who you're looking for to me, and I'll see if I can help you out?" she offered.

"He's kinda tall with long tea-green hair and blue eyes. He usually wears a black and white cap."

The woman looked thoughtful. "Yes... someone like that moved here recently. I went to welcome him yesterday. He's awful cute. Sort of awkward," she laughed.

"That sounds like him," said Touko, smiling.

The woman took her wrist and began to lead her through Undella Town. Touko looked back at the Garchomp, who was trailing behind them. When the land shark saw she was looking at it, it gave her a toothy grin that almost made her faint.

"Here we are!" said the woman, halting in front of a house. "Your friend should be here."

Touko walked up to the house that she had pointed out. "Thank you for bringing me here," she mentioned.

"It was no problem, um...?"

"Touko."

"Well, Touko, you should probably choose a time during the day to visit, next time. People will suspect that you're up to something."

She watched as the woman and her Garchomp started to walk away.

"By the way," said the woman over her shoulder just as Touko was about to knock on the door. "My name is Cynthia."

Touko waved goodbye to Cynthia. Something about that woman gave her the impression that she was very important. She shrugged and knocked on the door.

Not a sound came from inside. She knocked harder.

Still nothing.

Anxiety pickled at Touko. What if he was already taken? _'Oh, Lord, please don't let me be too late!'_ she thought. "N, please open the door," she called. "This is really important... Please!"

There was the sound of hurried footsteps before the door flew open to reveal a worry-faced N. He was in his regular pants and black undershirt. The drowsy look in his eyes told her that she had woken him up from sleeping. She wasn't surprised, considering what time it was.

"Touko? What's wrong?" he asked.

With both hands on his chest, Touko pushed him back into the house and shut the door behind her, then turned on the lights. "The police are after you, N."

N closed his eyes and slumped into his couch, hands gripping a fistfuls of his long hair. "I had a feeling this would happen," he sighed.

Touko sat on the couch close to N. She wanted to reassure him somehow, but she knew that hugging made him uncomfortable. What could she do then? Thinking for a moment, she scooted even closer and pressed herself against him.

"Touko?"

She jumped a bit, surprised by his sudden speech. "Yes?"

"Do... you think I deserve to be in prison?" He didn't look at her as he asked this question.

"No, N!" she exclaimed without hesitation. She moved his hand from where it was clutching his hair and held it in her own. Was he seriously thinking about turning himself in? "They don't understand you... but I do. You had beautiful intentions, N, you really did. With the right guidance, I'm sure you have the potential to change Unova- Maybe even the world. That's the kind of person you are. You always want to help others and get so caught up with it, that you don't think about yourself. That's an amazing quality you have!"

Touko stopped talking when N squeezed her hand. Most of his facial features conveyed nothing, but he appeared to be smiling at her with his eyes.

"Thank you."

"W-what?"

N brought her hand to his lips, making her blush in surprise.

"I was just like a puppet," he began, his lips brushing the back of her hand as he spoke. "and Ghetsis was the master, pulling my strings from the shadows. I did not have a will of my own, or even emotion. It was like I truly wasn't human until I met you. The more time I spent with you, I could feel myself developing a consciousness... little by little, I was becoming more human. I became aware of something other than Pokémon for the first time in my life. When you defeated Ghetsis... you cut those strings that he was using to control me. For all that, I am in your debt."

Touko felt her face grow an even deeper shade of red as N pressed his lips to her hand in a light kiss.

"Touko, if I am to avoid capture by the police, then I will have to leave. I'm sorry... I don't know when I will be able to come back," N said softly.

"I know," she said with a smile. "I'm coming with you."

N's head shot up, eyes wide with shock. "B-but... you...! No!"

Her smile disappeared. "You don't want me to travel with you...?"

N ran his fingers through his hair, making it appear disheveled. "I would love more than anything for you to be with me, but you have a mother and friends. I can't let you leave them because of me. I'll be okay on my own." Touko sensed uncertainty in his voice with that last sentence.

"There's a friend right here who needs me way more than they do," she replied, giving him a playful nudge. "Plus, Zekrom is waiting at the Bay with my bags. I already packed."

"Once you have your mind set on something, there's no stopping you, huh?" said N.

"Exactly," she smirked.

"Then I suppose there's no use in me trying to change your mind. Give me a bit to get ready, okay?" requested N, standing up.

While N was packing, Touko took the opportunity to look around his house. He had been here for not even two days and the place was a mess. Books and papers littered the floor and tables, some of them old and ancient-looking, others looked brand-new. So N wasn't the organized type. She should have guessed when she saw his playroom. It made sense though, because he was raised with Pokémon, who mostly cared little for tidiness. She curiously picked up a crumbled piece of paper that was on the floor near her and unraveled it. On it was written a mess of numbers and formulas that she had no chance in hell of understanding. She crumbled it back up.

"Are you done yet?"

"Just about..." said N, slipping his white shirt over his head and adjusting it once it was on his body. "Let's go." He was holding a single bag, but it was bigger than the two Touko had.

They quickly exited the house together without saying a word to each other. Maybe it was the gravity of the situation that gave her the impression that she shouldn't talk. If they were caught, N would go to prison, and she might, too. Or worse. They might force her to go back home to face the wrath of her mother. She shivered at the thought.

When they made it to Undella Bay, she climbed aboard Zekrom as N released Reshiram. The two Pokémon stared warily at each other. Touko patted Zekrom's neck.

"There are no enemies here," she told the Deep Black Pokémon.

Reshiram was first into the air, and Zekrom at once followed suit. They circled until they were so high in the air that everything in Undella seemed a world below them. The air this far up was freezing cold on Touko's bare arms and legs. For once she actually welcomed Beloved being in her lap. His body heat warmed her up a bit.

"N, there's something important I forgot to tell you about Ghetsis!"

"He escaped, didn't he?" said N calmly.

"How did you...?"

"I know that man. He is not the type to be subdued for long."

"Oh..."

At that moment, the tails of Reshiram and Zekrom began to glow blue and orange respectively. Reshiram's tail gave off an intense amount of heat, while Zekrom's crackled with electricity. This signaled that they were preparing to fly at high speed. Touko braced herself.

The two Pokémon moved in perfect sync with one another, pulling off impressive-looking aerial maneuvers. It was like they were doing some kind of dance. Touko and N shared a laugh at their enthusiasm.

With one final burst of speed, they became like rockets tearing through the dark sky, leaving behind bright trails of blue and orange in their wake.


	9. Chapter 9

They flew through the morning without stopping. How could they, when there was nothing but the seemingly endless sea below them? Touko could sense Zekrom's weariness, and see it in Reshiram. N and the White Warrior were ahead of them, guiding them to their destination. Where was that, even? N had not informed her yet. She tapped lightly on Zekrom's side and let it know that she wanted to get closer to N. Complying, the Pokémon's speed increased speed until it was next to Reshiram, a little behind.

"Where exactly are we going?" she questioned, catching his eye.

"Oh- I'm sorry, I didn't tell you yet, did I? We're headed to the Kanto region. From what I've read, it's really quite the place. Kanto is said to be the home of some incredible trainers. I thought that might interest you..."

Touko brightened up at the thought of battling a tough opponent. She had also never been out of Unova before, and the thought of going somewhere new excited her. "That sounds great!" she exclaimed.

N smiled, carefully turning his body around so that he was sitting backwards on Reshiram, facing her. He leaned against Reshiram's neck as if it were a backrest. "Let's talk," he suggested, head propped up on his arm. "How about we take turns asking each other questions?"

Touko moved Beloved from her lap and laid down on her belly, where she was more comfortable. Beloved curled back up directly in front of her, so she rested her head on him. He made a perfect pillow. "You ask first."

N looked thoughtful for a few seconds before the first question. "Where is your father? Do you get to see him?" he asked curiously.

"My mom and dad divorced a few years back because he was always away for work and barely had time to spend with us. They don't talk anymore, but I video chat with him on my computer occasionally. He also sends me stuff in the mail from time to time," she answered flatly. "My mom's been doing her best to raise me all by herself."

"That poor woman..." said N, shaking his head.

At first, Touko thought he was referring to the divorce, but after catching a faint smile on N's lips, she grinned and rolled her eyes. "Oh, so Pretty Boy has jokes. I'll remember that later," she said, narrowing her eyes. She thought about what question to ask him. It did pop into her head to ask about his mother, but she decided against it, for fear of bringing up something he wasn't comfortable talking about. "How did you meet Zoroark?" she asked.

"It was the first Pokémon that Ghetsis ever brought to me as a child. It's parents were killed by an illegal underground society called the Dire Army," N replied bitterly. She could tell that he was remembering something by the distant look on his face.

Touko thought the name sounded vaguely familiar. Maybe she had overheard it from someone in Castelia City? "Who are they?" she queried.

N closed his eyes. "They are an organization who believes in fighting Pokémon to the death. Battles with them are extremely dangerous. I've heard stories of even trainers perishing in combat. They don't care who they hurt for their amusement..." he described, clenching his his fists.

Touko's eyes widened in horror as she listened. "That's awful!" she expressed. "Why haven't they been stopped yet?" With one hand, she scratched behind Beloved's ear. He purred in response, lifting his head. She wouldn't dream of making Beloved, or any of her Pokémon fight like that. It was too cruel.

"The Dire Army excels at secrecy. Distinguishing them from regular trainers is impossible at a glance. Few people have heard of them, and even fewer believe in their existence. They are real... Zoroark escaped from them as a Zorua by pure luck. It was barely alive when Ghetsis found it..."

The way N was getting so worked up reminded Touko of how passionate a person he was. _'He truly loves Pokémon,'_ she mused, gazing at him from where she lay on Zekrom's back. He was an amazing combination of things: passionate, kind, considerate, modest, charming... definitely attractive.

"Touko, look," cut in N, distracting her from her admiration of him. He was pointing below them, at a small island. "We should land there and let Zekrom and Reshiram rest a bit before we continue. What do you think?"

"Sounds like a plan," she replied, moving back into the sitting position. Together, Zekrom and Reshiram glided down until their large feet skidded across the sandy beach of the island and finally came to a stop. Sliding off Zekrom's back, Touko inspected the towering forest trees that stood before them. Their red and orange leaves filtered most of the sunlight, casting narrow beams of light that touched down all the way to the forest floor, which was littered with fallen leaves.

"Wouldn't expect to find a place like this out at sea," spoke N, who had come to stand next to her.

Touko nodded, still looking around. "Where are we?" she asked, returning Zekrom and Beloved to their Poké Balls.

N gave her a rather too bright smile, especially for him, and took her hand. "I have no idea."

"You _what?_"

Before she could say anything else, N began pulling her into the forest, picking up speed until they were running, the beach getting further and further behind them. _'What on earth is he doing?'_ she thought to herself, almost tripping over an exposed tree root.

Touko gasped as they entered a large clearing that was alive with colorful flowers. A herd of Sawsbuck and Deerling lifted their heads upon noticing them, then, deciding they were in no danger, resumed eating from the variety of berry bushes that bordered the area. Touko's attention switched to the trees surrounding them. They sported stunning pink and light blue flowers. Vines creeped their way up the sturdy trunks and onto the branches, crossing between trees with tiny white flowers of their own. Because there were no leaves overhead, light poured in, making the whole place glow compared to the rest of the forest. It was breathtaking to look at. N stopped so they could marvel at their surroundings.

"Oh my god, N! This place is beautiful!" she exclaimed, watching some Pokémon she had never seen before play amongst the flowers. She withdrew her Poké Dex so she could identify them. "Rattata... Sentret... Zigzagoon... Bidoof, and some Patrat. They're so cute!" She put the PokéDex back into her bag.

Suddenly, N took her other hand as well, and spun her around in circles. _'He's acting so different...'_ she thought, looking into his enchanting blue eyes. Like this, it was as if the world around them was doing the spinning, and they were the only stationary things in existence. Together, they fell dizzy to the ground, laughing. Was this what happy N was like? He should be happy more often.

Her laughter increased as N reached over and tickled her sides. She curled into a ball in an attempt to protect herself. It did little to no good, however, and she ended up laughing uncontrollably and writhing on the ground, trying to get away. "S-s-stop!" she cried between laughs.

"Nope," said N with a mischievous grin, continuing his assault on her sides.

She changed her mind. She liked him better when he was miserable. In one last attempt to escape, Touko's foot came in contact with N's chest. It wasn't hard enough to hurt him, but to push him away. It worked, because N, who had been crouching over her, lost his balance and toppled over. She took the opportunity to falter to her feet and put some distance between her and him. In no time, N was up as well. Touko dodged between trees and jumped over fallen branches, all the while giggling as N chased her through the forest. It seemed like forever since Touko had last romped so energetically. This was just how she used to play with Cheren and Bianca before they started their journeys.

_Cheren and Bianca..._

Touko felt a tug from behind her. Looking back, she found that N had her by the collar of her vest. Picking up speed, she slipped both arms out of it. A thud from behind told Touko that N had tripped.

"Touko, wait!"

As if. She wasn't about to let him catch up so he could tickle her again. She kept running on and on until her body screamed at her to stop. Leaning against a tree for support, Touko caught her breath while she scanned the area with her eyes. N was nowhere to be seen. Even when she listened carefully she couldn't hear the crunching of leaves that meant he was near. "N?" she called, waiting for a response. None came. She cursed and sat down at the base of the tree. Great. Now she was separated from N, and had made so many turns that she didn't know how to get back. Then she had an idea. Braviary could fly her to the beach where they landed and she could wait for him to show up there. She moved to get its Poké Ball from her bag.

"What have we here?" said an unfamiliar male voice in a matter-of-fact tone.

Touko's heart nearly leaped out of her chest in surprise. She tried to stand up, but her feet got caught on each other and caused her to fall again. The boy that stood before her looked to be a little older than her, but not much. Perhaps N's age? He had straight jet-black hair and dark eyes that were fixed curiously on her. His build was slender under his white short-sleeved shirt and black skinny jeans.

He took a step closer to her. "Looks like one little miss was stupid enough to get herself lost," he commented with narrow eyes, voice edged with hostility.

Touko stood up slowly this time. Normally, she wouldn't let anyone get away with talking to her like that, but something about this guy scared her. His gaze bore into her, freezing her to the spot, and forcing her to keep eye contact with him. Never once had she met someone that could have a person frozen with fear so easily. The dark circles under his eyes added to their intensity. She couldn't believe herself. Why did this person terrify her so much?

He took a few more steps towards her. He now stood just in front of her. She expected him to do something bad to her, which is why what he said next took her completely by surprise.

"So did I look cool?"

The spell was immediately broken. "_What?_"

"Entrances are very important. Almost as important as exits," he informed blankly.

Touko searched his countenance for a smile, eye-roll, or any other sign that he was kidding. He looked at her with a perfectly straight face. He no longer wore the death stare he had been giving her only a few moments ago. "Um... I have to go find someone!" she excused, wanting to get as far away as possible from this strange young man.

"No, you don't." The black-haired boy put his hands on the tree either side of her, stopping her from leaving. He moved his face so that it was inches away from hers. "You didn't answer my question."

Touko swallowed, very much uncomfortable with his proximity to her. She pressed herself tightly against the tree. Did he seriously only want her to tell him if he looked cool? Was he crazy? She clamped her mouth shut, looking him defiantly in the eye. She most certainly was not going to humor him.

He held her gaze for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. She looked confused as he backed away from her. Oh yeah. He was definitely crazy.

There was a loud crunching of leaves and both of them turned their heads just as N entered the scene. Touko's heart fluttered. He couldn't have picked a better time to show up.

N regarded the black-haired stranger with suspicion as he stood protectively close to her.

The boy grinned and raised his hands to show he wasn't looking for trouble. "Relax, I didn't lay a finger on her. Wasn't even planning on it," he assured. "I was just saying hi."

Interesting way to say hi.

The mysterious boy extended his hand for N to shake, and he reluctantly took it, being the nice guy he was.

When he offered to shake Touko's hand, however, she shot him a look and refused. What was with this guy? First he acts all dark and intimidating, then he says something that catches her completely off-guard, now he seemed virtually harmless. His odd behavior perplexed her. She didn't trust him as far as she could throw him.

He actually looked hurt for a second. "Ouch, talk about cold!" he expressed, lowering the hand and hooking its thumb into his pocket. A moment later his phone went off in a series of obnoxiously loud rings. He practically jumped four feet into the air, surprised by the sound of his own phone.

Touko found this slightly humorous, but resisted the urge to smile.

N raised an eyebrow and leaned close to her. "He's a bit odd..." he whispered as the boy took out his phone and held it to his ear.

"How's it going?" he said, then paused a few seconds while the other person talked. "A problem...? What is it?" he sighed. Whatever the person on the other end said, it must have been a pretty big problem, because his eyes widened and he cursed audibly. "I'm on my way," he promised, closing the phone. He gave N and Touko a cheery smile. "Well, I have business to see to, so I'm afraid I must get going. Good day to you both." He got an Ultra Ball from his belt and enlarged it, pressing the white button to release a large green insect Pokémon with two sets of translucent madly-beating wings tipped with orange.

Suddenly N pulled her back by the wrist and stepped in front of her, his eyes glued to the bug Pokémon. Why did he do that? It didn't seem like the boy was trying to battle.

The Pokémon curved its abdomen underneath itself and the black-haired stranger sat on it, giving the illusion that he was in some sort of flying chair. He held on to one of the Pokémon's six legs as it rose into the air.

Curiously, she held her Poké Dex up to it. "...Yanmega," she read from the screen. It was huge and fierce-looking, and as it began to fly away, Touko noticed that it was also _fast_. In a very short amount of time, the boy and Yanmega were little more than a speck in the distance until at last they disappeared. '_What a peculiar person,'_ she thought. She also couldn't help but notice that there seemed to be something wrong with him. Well, other than his cryptic personality, anyway. Those dark circles under his eyes... was he sick or something?

N lightly placed her vest over her shoulders. She had almost forgotten that she shed it when they were playing around earlier. "Thank you," she said, smiling at him and putting her arms through the arm-holes. Looking at his face, she saw a spooked expression. "What's wrong?" she asked.

He grabbed his necklace and bit his lip. "His Pokémon... It was saying terrible, evil, things," he replied, taking her hand and squeezing it. The way he was looking at her was not unlike the way he had back at the Pokémon League, when she had almost been flattened under a broken pillar.

"It was talking about killing things. Not just killing, but torturing as well. It... said it wanted to hurt you, Touko."

So that was why he had acted the way he did. Touko's heart swelled with affection for N. She had been oblivious to the potential danger she was in, but he was fully prepared to protect her if he had to.

"N..." She carefully wrapped her arms around him and placed her head on his chest, ignoring the way he tautened as their bodies got closer together. The longer she stayed like that, she felt him gradually loosen up. N exhaled and tentatively returned her embrace, his arms finding their way around her waist.

"You don't know how badly I need you..." He said these words so softly Touko thought he might not have meant to speak them at all.

She tightened her hold on him. He said it himself that he needed her. She couldn't go back to Nuvema Town. She wouldn't do that to him. He needed another human being right now more than ever, and it could only be her. She was the only friend he had. Touko shuddered to think about his mental state and where he might be right now if she hadn't stopped him from leaving two days ago.

"We should leave..." N interrupted, pulling away awkwardly and straightening out his clothes.

Touko tried to hide her disappointment. "Okay," she replied.

A Rattata emerged from a bush and ambled up to them with two pretty blue flowers tucked behind its incisors. It removed them from its mouth and held them up, one in each tiny fore-paw.

Touko and N crouched down and took one flower each, admiring their beauty.

"These are for us?" Touko asked, looking down at the small mouse Pokémon. It nodded its head in reply, its tail swaying back and forth. She smiled, took the Rattata's head in her hands, and gave it a small kiss on the head. She let out a laugh as the Pokémon's cheeks grew warm against her palms. "Thank you, Little One. I love it." The Rattata twitched its nose and whiskers.

A chuckle caused her to look up and find N smiling down at her. "W-what?" she stammered, her face flushing. What she had just demonstrated was a side of herself she didn't let many people see. The Rattata scurried back to wherever it had come from.

"Oh, nothing," N answered, still smiling. "That was really cute."

Touko turned her back to him and began to walk fast towards the beach they arrived on, her face turning even redder. "Let's go already," she growled.

As N hurried to catch up, Touko thought about the boy with the evil Yanmega. If he had a Pokémon like that, it must mean he was bad, too. Images of the way he had looked at her when she first saw him filled her head.

She just hoped she never had to see those eyes again.


	10. Chapter 10

"Look, N, they have a gym!" Touko exclaimed just as they had walked into Fuchsia City after landing on the beach with Zekrom and Reshiram. Even though they were now in a different region, the two still had to keep a low profile, and riding up on two large legendary dragons would definitely attract attention to themselves.

"Before you go racing off to battle the gym leader, I would advise you to get a good night's sleep so you and your Pokémon can be at full strength. We've been flying all day," stated N.

"No, I can-" Touko stopped herself from finishing that sentence. The direction this was heading reminded her of an argument she had had a couple of days ago. She hadn't listened to Cheren, and as a result, was aching and exhausted the next day all through her Pokemon League challenge and battle with N. Then she ended up passing out...

"You're right," she said quickly, heading in the opposite direction of the gym. "Let's find a hotel." It was night anyway. It had taken them almost a whole day to get to Kanto on the backs of the Black and White warriors. Without their speed and stamina, it would have taken them at least two days to arrive in Kanto.

As they searched around for a hotel, Touko began to wonder if the people back at Nuvema Town had noticed her absence yet. She figured they probably did. By now her mother was frantic with worry and had already reported a missing person. She was certain Cheren and Bianca had a pretty good idea of who she was with. Did they tell? If so, N would be in even more trouble, because everyone would assume she was taken against her will. If they were found and it was clear she was with him by choice, she would be helping a criminal and would be punished by the law for that. What a mess she had gotten herself into. Oddly enough, she felt running away was totally worth it. She really enjoyed being with N. Plus, she was in Kanto! She couldn't wait to battle and meet new Pokémon she had never seen before.

Disrupting her thoughts, N placed a hand on her forehead, pushing her hat up a bit. "I hope you'll be able to sleep tonight. I can tell you're excited to be here," he laughed.

Touko looked up and noticed they were in front of an expensive-looking hotel. Adjusting her hat, Touko gaped at the building's extravagance. It towered several stories tall, the front of it made up of windows where some of the lights were on, others off. Looking inside the lobby, she glimpsed three decorative fountains resembling bird Pokémon of some sort. From the ceiling hung magnificent glass chandeliers that glistened as the light hit them. The floors were made of pale gray and white marble with a pattern that she couldn't make out from far away. The few people that were still roaming around were all dressed formally. "Er, N... could we stay somewhere else?" she asked nervously.

"Why?" N questioned, tilting his head to the side. "You don't like this place?"

She grabbed her arm. "I don't know the first thing about fitting in with these kind of people. I don't belong here... It's way too expensive for me."

N smiled. "That's nonsense, you'll be fine. Besides, the only person you have to talk to is me," he said, hooking his arm with hers and leading her inside.

She gulped, but followed him to the counter, which was unmanned.

"See, no one's here. Lets go," she said, turning to leave.

With one arm, N pulled her close to him by her waist so that her back was now pressed against his side. Surprised, Touko let out a squeak. "Nice try," smirked N. He rang the bell on the counter and seconds later a lady emerged from the back room. She smiled when she saw them.

"What can I do for you?" she asked them.

"We'd like to check in, please," replied N.

"No problem, Sir. Will you two be sharing a bed, or...?"

Face heating up, Touko suddenly realized how suggestive it was being pressed to N with his arm around her. He must have done the same, because they both jumped away from each other at the same time. In his face, she saw mirrored her own embarrassment. It was the first time she had seen him blush.

"No!" they blurted simultaneously. N recovered first and cleared his throat. "Um, two separate rooms actually, thank you," he informed.

The woman covered her mouth. "There I go assuming things again. Sorry about that."

While N went back to sorting out the business of their rooms, Touko walked off to examine the three fountains she saw earlier. The three bird Pokémon looked proud and magnificent on their stone perches surrounded by water. One of them had a short beak and head plumage that went upwards. Behind it was a long flowing tail. Another had flames sprouting from its head and wings. The last one had short, spiky, feathers all over its body. Each one of them stood at least ten feet tall. What were their names, she wondered?

"You seem interested in Kanto's three legendary bird Pokémon."

A silver-haired man approached her with a smile. He looked older than N, but still in his twenties. "The one with the long tail is Articuno," he started, "It's supposed to live on high snow-capped mountains. It whips up strong blizzards around the area where it rests. The fire one is known as Moltres. It is said to be the harbinger of spring. It's fiery wings scatter embers with every flap. And last but not least, this spiky one is Zapdos. It makes it's home in thunderclouds. It can control where lightning strikes at will."

Touko listened to the man with fascination. So these were the legends of Kanto. "They're glorious," she commented in awe.

The man laughed. "If you didn't know about them, you must not be from around here. Might I ask what region you're from?"

Was it a good idea to tell someone where she was from? Should she lie? She didn't like the idea of lying to someone who had just been nice to her. "I came from Unova," she said. "It's my first time out of the region. I'm Touko by the way."

"My name is Steven. Steven Stone. I'm not from this region either. I'm here on urgent business that sprung up recently. There are so many things going on in the world right now that the public is not aware of..."

Touko was about to ask what he meant when N called her name. He was waiting for her at an elevator. "I have to go," she told Steven. He waved goodbye as she dragged her bags over to N.

The doors opened as soon as N pressed the button. That was to be expected, it being so late at night that nobody else was using the elevators. As they ascended, Touko gazed at the stars through the thick glass of the large elevator window. It was a clear night with not a cloud to be seen. Touko felt a blush rise to her cheeks. The slow rising of the elevator reminded her of the night she and N had ridden the Ferris wheel together. It was the night he had completely enchanted her.

As if on cue, N was next to her, looking out the window as well. Their shoulders were touching, but Touko didn't mind. She leaned against him, her head on his shoulder.

"Touko..." he said in a way that made her heart feel like it was going to burst. "After everything I put you through, you would still come this far for me. You have every reason to hate me, and yet, you look at me and smile. Why? I don't understand it."

She had not been expecting this out of the blue question at all. She twirled a strand of her hair around her finger. "I guess... I've always figured someone who cares about Pokémon as much as you couldn't be a bad person, and I came with you, because..." _'I have feelings for you.'_

The elevator stopped moving and its doors opened. N was the first to step out. "Well, whatever your reason, I'm glad to have you," he said warmly. "Let me escort you to your room."

Touko cursed herself and followed N. Why couldn't she say it?

He slid one of the two card keys he held into the electric lock on the door to her room. The lock glowed green for a bit, then stopped. N stepped back from the door and motioned for her to open it.

She took the handle in her hand and breathed deeply before turning it and pushing the door open. As soon as she did so, she couldn't believe her eyes. The room was amazing! The beige carpet was embroidered with pictures of ferocious yet majestic looking Pokémon. Touko recognized Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, though here they looked much more deadly. The walls were pure white. There was a large flat-screen T.V. attached to the wall that she guessed was high-definition. Across from it, was a very alluring bed that was so large Zekrom might have been able to squeeze in it with her. Maybe. Next to it was a small nightstand that supported a lamp, pen, and notepad. A few feet away was a vanity, and off to the side, a circle of chairs and a sofa surrounding a mostly glass rectangular table. She could see the door to the bathroom, but she was afraid if she looked inside she would faint or something.

"Do you like it?" asked N, who was leaning against the door frame.

"No, I hate it," she said, hugging him tightly, then pulling away. Each time she hugged him, his reaction got a little better, she noticed. "I hate that you'll be spending all this money on me."

Smiling, N rolled his eyes. "I'm in your debt, remember?" He took her hand and placed the card key to the room in it.

"Thank you so much!" she said, sitting down on the bed and pressing the opening mechanism on Beloved's Poké Ball. Within seconds of him being released, she found the Prim Pokémon again in her lap. Why would he choose her lap when there was the softest bed he had ever slept in as the other option? Actually, he had started making a seat of her lap a lot lately. He rarely used to do that. She moved him onto the bed. In a flash, he was right back where he had been: in her lap. This annoyed her a bit, but Beloved had a history of being stubborn.

N picked up his bag. "I have to get settled into my room now. Goodnight, Touko. See you in the morning."

"Good night."

When he left, closing the door behind him, Touko once again pushed Beloved off her lap. This time, he stayed off and jumped down from the bed to explore the room.

"This is where we'll be staying for now," she told him. His tail swished back and forth in delight. She had a felling he would like this place. There was one thing she had to get straight with him, though. She crouched down in front of Beloved and took both of his front paws in her hands. "Absolutely _no_ clawing on _anything_," she stressed. Beloved pinned his ears back. She took that to mean something along the lines of, "Fine," which was good enough for her.

Looking at the luxurious hotel bed again reminded Touko of how tired she was. She fell backwards onto it, and without even bothering to put the covers over herself, sighed. Beloved jumped back onto the bed and took his place near her head. She smiled as he began to purr. Ever since she was little, she had had sleeping problems. She had trouble getting to sleep, and when she actually did manage to do that, she would wake up at random times throughout the night. That changed when she obtained Beloved, though. His purring had a calming effect on her that helped her sleep soundly. It was already kicking in. She closed her eyes and had what was probably the best night's sleep in her life.

* * *

><p>After taking a morning shower, Touko stood in front of the vanity brushing her just recently blow-dried hair. Beloved sat in front of the mirror as well, licking down the patches of fur that were sticking up from his slumber.<p>

Touko brushed her hair back into her signature curly ponytail, put her hat on, and pulled the ponytail through the hole in the back of it. She then looked herself over in the mirror. Deciding that she looked at least decent, she hurried out of the room, sticking the card key into the back pocket of her shorts. Once in the elevator, she again looked out over Fuchsia City. It was moderate-sized city. Certainly bigger than Nuvema. A wave of homesickness passed over Touko at the thought of her hometown. Even with her new luxury hotel room, Touko missed her old one, with its sentimental value. She also missed her mother, Professor Juniper, Bianca, and as much as she hated to admit it, she missed Cheren. She was still angry at him, but he had been the person she was closest to for years. She hoped everyone back home wasn't _too_ worried.

As soon as the elevator doors slid open, Touko saw N sitting at a table with a cup of coffee in his hand. She strolled over and sat down across from him.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked, setting down his cup.

"Yeah..."

"Is something wrong?"

"I just miss my folks a bit."

N paused, looking down at the table. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'll get over it when we start exploring this region," she said quickly. She knew N was trying his best to make their journey enjoyable, and he was doing a great job of it. "I was thinking about challenging this city's gym."

"You can't," replied N, "The Gym Leader isn't there."

"Well... when will she be back? I could wait..." Truth was, she had wanted to challenge the Gym Leader as soon as possible.

"She, along with every other gym leader in the region, has been absent for a week now. No one knows where they are or when they will return."

Touko groaned. Partly because of the news she had just heard, and partly because Beloved was back in her lap again. She decided that she would tolerate it for now.

"We could go to Pallet Town instead," suggested N. "The man who invented the PokéDex lives there. It's also the home of the first PokéDex owners."

This piqued her interest. Touko had never seen another PokéDex wielder besides Cheren and Bianca. They were probably strong battlers. "After we get some breakfast, let's go there straight away!"

* * *

><p><em>"What on Earth?"<em> expressed Touko when they had landed in Pallet Town. The whole place was in shambles. It looked like the battleground of a huge fight. Some buildings were reduced to rubble, others were horribly charred and covered in deep gashes.

"This must have happened quite recently," deduced N, a serious tone in his voice. "This is... horrendous, to say the least..."

"You two! What are you doing here?"

Touko turned her head in time to see a group of three people about her own age running in their direction. Two of them were boys, and one was a girl. N stepped to her side.

"Back to finish what you started?" accused one of the boys, who had spiky brown hair.

"We don't know what you're talking about," retorted N. "We have nothing to do with the state of this town."

"Maybe they're telling the truth, Blue," said the girl, inspecting her and N. "They look pretty harmless." She wore a white hat on her head, a turquoise short-sleeved shirt, and a short red skirt.

"Looks can be deceiving," replied the first boy, putting both hands in his pockets. "After that god-forsaken group of people attack our home, they just so happen to come snooping around the next morning? Don't tell me that isn't suspicious."

The other boy, with black hair and a red and white cap spoke up, this time to Touko. "Why are you here?" he asked. There was no hostility in his voice, only curiosity.

"We wanted to meet the person who created the PokéDex and its first recipients. We're new to this region, and had no idea that something this terrible happened to your town," she explained.

The three of them exchanged looks with each other. "Why would you be interested in those things?" the boy with the cap asked.

"Oh, um..." Touko rummaged around in her bag and got her PokéDex out. "I have one, too."

The capped boy grabbed the wrist of the hand she was holding the device in, and held it up. "There's your proof, Blue. An evil person would never be given a PokéDex!"

The boy called Blue shrugged. "Can't blame me for being a little paranoid. Sorry for suspecting you."

Letting go of her wrist, the other boy introduced them. "My name is Red. This is Blue, and she's Green. Nice to meet another owner of the PokéDex," he grinned.

"My name is Touko, and he's N. You guys are...?"

"Yup! The first three people to own them."

Touko's jaw dropped. "That's so cool! I'd love it if you guys gave me a few pointers sometime."

"We have bigger things to worry about," said Blue. "If you haven't noticed, our whole town is in ruins."

"What exactly happened here?" solicited N, saving her from embarrassment at Blue's comment.

"It was an attack by an organization called the Dire Army that took place yesterday," informed Green, taking a step forward. "

Touko saw the shock in N's eyes. "That's impossible. It doesn't match their pattern of movement. The Dire Army wouldn't do something like this at the risk of drawing attention to themselves. What could they have been trying to accomplish by doing something like this?"

"So you know about them?" Green sounded faintly surprised. "We believe the attack was to provoke us three. None of us were in town at the time, so they were trying to lure us back. Unfortunately for them, Steven Stone was coincidentally passing by and thwarted their plan before we could show up."

Didn't she meet someone with the name Steven Stone at the hotel yesterday?

"When we arrived it was all over," continued Green. "Steven told us that one of their generals appeared and gave him a run for his money, allowing them all to escape. If you have heard of the Dire Army, then surely you have heard of Dread?"

"He is one of their few known generals, second only to the leader," replied N factually.

"Right. Steven was close to losing the battle when Dread retreated. He must have gotten tired of waiting for us. Had he any intention other than stalling, there's no doubt some of Steven's Pokémon would be dead. He said so himself."

Touko could feel the anger being emitted from N. These were the people that haunted Zoroark's nightmares. They killed Pokémon for sport. He had every right to be angry at them.

"We're not going to let them get away with this. If they want us, then they're getting more than they bargained for," vowed Blue.

"That's right," agreed Red. A small yellow Pokémon that Touko hadn't noticed before climbed up his body and onto his shoulder. She recognized this Pokémon as Pikachu from the inflatable in Nimbasa.

"We want to help," Touko said, nudging N with her elbow.

"We don't need your help," said Blue coldly. "You'll just get in the way. Battling the Dire Army won't be like a gym challenge. Your Pokémon will have to be strong or they just might end up dead."

This Blue guy was really getting on her nerves. "My Pokémon are strong!" she retaliated hotly.

Red stepped in between her and Blue. "Now, now, this can be settled simply. Why don't you battle me and show us what you've got?" he presented, winking at her. "Depending on how well you do, we just might let you help us."

Perfect. This was just what she had wanted from the start. "Alright," she responded, moving to an open place where they could battle. Red stood across from her, tossing a Poké Ball in his hand.

As N passed her, he paused for a moment to whisper in her ear. "Don't use Zekrom."

She nodded. "Hey Red, can this be a three on three battle? I don't have six Pokémon with me at the moment."

"That's fine by me. Let's get started!" He threw a Poké Ball and out came a blue Pokémon with a swirl on its belly. She guessed it was at least part fighting type from its bulging muscles, and maybe water from its coloration. She didn't want to use her PokéDex at the risk of looking weak.

"Go, Samurott!" she shouted, throwing the ball that held her starter. The Formidable Pokémon glared at his opposer, the deadly sword incorporated into his armor gleaming.

Green stood in front of the battlefield, arm raised. "Battle, commence!" she shouted, bringing the arm down.


	11. Chapter 11

"Samurott, Aerial Ace!" ordered Touko as soon as Green gave the signal to begin. If Red's Pokémon was indeed a fighting type, then that move should be super-effective. Samurott wasted no time in launching himself at his target with speed.

"Catch it, Poli." The Pokémon he called "Poli" grabbed Samurott's sword in its large fist and lifted him off the ground with ease, stopping the attack. Samurott's legs flailed helplessly in the air as he struggled to free himself. "Seismic Toss."

As Poli started to spin her Samurott in circles, gaining momentum with each turn, Touko searched her brain for a solution to this dilema. Red had just used her own attack against her. _'Think... think...'_ Touko let her mind drift back to the strange island that she and N had visited the day before. In the clearing with the flowers, N had spun her in a similar fashion. She recalled the clear image of his face while the rest of the world rushed around them. _'That's it!'_ Samurott now had a perfect opportunity to score a direct hit when least expected! "Hydro Pump!"

Before it could react properly, Red's Poli found itself being pummeled with a huge volume of pressurized water at point blank range. Letting go of Samurott, the Pokémon flew backward, sliding across the pitiful remains of grass. Samurott managed a less-than-graceful landing.

"Good! I didn't see that one coming," commented Red from the other side, "but don't think Poli is down for the count yet!" Just as soon as he finished this sentence, Poli picked itself up as if nothing happened, despite the obvious fact that it had taken a generous amount of damage. "Give it a Focus Punch!" The bough blue Pokémon readied its fist and charged.

Touko could tell just by looking that Poli's attack had incredible power behind it. "Move!" she commanded Samurott. The Formidable Pokémon tottered around in the same spot. Why wasn't it moving? At that moment, Touko remembered the side-effect of being spun around for extended periods of time. Samurott was dizzy. "Get a hold of yourself and move!" she repeated, with no results. "Okay, try Ice Beam!" Samurott fired a straight beam of ice to the right of Poli, then another one above.

Then it was too late. The Focus Punch struck Samurott and smashed him into the ground. Touko felt the force of the impact from where she stood, some yards away. "Samurott!" she exclaimed. Her Pokémon lay still on the ground. As Red's Poli flexed its muscles triumphantly, a smile crossed Touko's face. "Samurott, Hydro Pump!" A massive jet of water even more powerful than the first suddenly erupted from the near-fainted Pokémon's mouth.

Poli dug its feet into the earth and withstood the attack, fighting with all its might not to be thrown back. With that, the battle was quickly turned to one of endurance. Would Red's Pokémon be the first to tire, or would Samurott? If Poli relaxed even the slightest bit it would be done for. If Samurott exhausted first, it would be a victory for Poli.

"Keep it up, Samurott. You're doing great," Touko praised. Samurott closed it's eyes tightly. It was struggling. She could also see that Poli was slowly being pushed backwards. Its feet left long drag marks in the dirt. Then it took a step forward. This wasn't going to work. Samurott's Hydro Pump was losing power. She had to switch strategies. "Samurott, use Aqua Jet!"

Samurott ceased using Hydro Pump and swiftly enveloped himself in an armor of water, speeding into Poli before it could recover from the last attack.

Red returned the defeated Poli. "That was a great match!" he laughed. "I thought we had you with that Focus Punch. How did you do it?"

Touko approached Samurott and untied something from his neck, holding it out for Red to see. What had allowed Samurott to continue fighting was a Focus Sash. The item had previously been hidden from view behind the Pokémon's thick bunch of whiskers. "When Samurott's in trouble, the power of his water moves increases because of his ability, Torrent." Touko patted her starter on the head. "You were amazing," she told him. "I'm not going to ask you to fight again. Go ahead and take a long rest." She returned Samurott to his Poké Ball.

Red released his second Pokémon, a gray one resembling a dragon with purple wings and nasty-looking jaws. "You're pretty smart. Let's see how you do against Aero." Aero rose into the air and hovered a few feet above the ground.

Touko decided that she was going to act under the assumption that Aero was a flying and dragon type. A dragon type might know a fire type move, so Excadrill wouldn't be a good choice. "Braviary, give them a demonstration of your flying ability!" she shouted, throwing the ball that contained her feathery friend. Braviary took to the air on his large, strong, wings.

"Use Dragon Claw, Aero!" instructed Red to his Pokémon. Long glowing claws formed at Aero's feet, slashing at Braviary.

Braviary dodged the attack, diving in a spiral, then rising back up directly behind Aero. Touko smiled as this was happening. Her Braviary was the best flier she had ever seen, capable of pulling off even the most complicated of aerial maneuvers. "Braviary, Crush Claw!" The Valiant Pokémon raked his claws across his opponent's back.

Aero spun around and snapped at Braviary, barely missing a wing. It acted as if the attack didn't even hurt. "Okay, Hone Claws!" Touko ordered. Her Pokémon landed briefly on the felled wall of a burned building and quickly sharpened his talons on its surface before taking flight again, his eight deadly weapons finely pointed. "Use Crush Claw again!"

"Hyper Beam," said Red simply. Aero expelled the attack immediately. Braviary evaded above it and once again struck Aero with with his Crush Claw, this time across the face. This got a bit more of a reaction than the last time, but not much.

There must be some reason why Braviary's attacks were doing so little damage. Was it just that Aero had a high defense? Or was it something else? As Aero chased Braviary around in the air, Touko examined the Pokémon she had thought was a flying and dragon type. Could she have been wrong about its typing, maybe? She looked at its coloration this time. It was definitely part flying, and possibly... rock? No wonder the attacks weren't doing much damage. Braviary was at a disadvantage against a rock type, and didn't know any moves at all that would be super-effective. When in a situation like this, the best choice would be to either switch Pokémon or use the strongest not very effective moves possible. She switched her attention to Braviary, who was full of fighting spirit. He wanted to continue the fight. "Very well..." she said, not loud enough for anyone to hear her. It was time to bring out the big guns. "Brave Bird!" Braviary made an abrupt upwards turn, picking up speed so that Aero would fall further behind in its chase. Then he folded his wings close to his body and dived straight down into the unsuspecting Aero like a bomb out of a plane. The head-on collision sent them both plummeting to the earth. Aero was slammed into the ground and Braviary landed on top of it, bouncing off to the side.

When neither of them moved, Touko began to worry that the match would be a draw. Then Aero hauled itself up, grunting with the effort. Not to be outdone, Braviary rose soon afterwards in even worse shape. His chest was heaving as he focused his eyes on Aero. Quite a few of his feathers were damaged or missing. Brave Bird was a very potent attack, but it also did great damage to the user. That, and the fall would be enough to subdue the toughest bird Pokémon. "Braviary..." Touko whispered. True to his name, Braviary bravely held his head high and puffed out his chest. Despite this, seconds later his strength gave out and he fell over, unable to get back up. Returning him to his Poké Ball, Touko held it up to her face. The proud bird Pokémon looked up at her through the lid of the spherical container. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "It was my fault you lost. I put you out there at a disadvantage. I should have analyzed the typing better. Even with my mistake, you were so brave! Rest up now, okay?" She stuck the Poké Ball back into her bag and got another one. Her final Pokémon.

"Beloved, show us what you've got!" The feline Pokémon exited his Poké Ball in a cocky manner, striking a pose. All he had to do was pick up where Braviary had left off and finish the job. The opponent was already significantly weakened.

"Fly, Aero!" commanded Red. With two flaps of its leathery wings, Aero was back in the sky again. "From the ground none of your attacks will be able to reach my Pokémon. What are you going to do?" questioned Red. He did not speak these words in a smug manner. It was sort of like he was a teacher assessing a student to see what they know.

Normally, the circumstance where a flying Pokémon was matched with a land-bound one would end up hopeless for the latter, however, Touko had an ace up her sleeve. "Beloved, use Assist!" Beloved breathed out a line of purple fire at Aero. It was Zekrom's Dragonbreath, but just as Red had predicted, it did not reach far enough.

"Use Take Down!" Red called, sending Aero swooping down at Beloved.

"Quickly, use Assist again!" Beloved began kicking up dirt at an extraordinary pace, and was underground in no time. This was Excadrill's Dig. Aero whistled by the spot where the Delcatty had once been, rising into the air once more. Beloved resurfaced a few feet to the right of the first hole. "Assist!" she repeated. There was one attack she was searching for that would make this battle a whole lot easier. And it looked like this was the one. Beloved began to run, and as he did so, his feet rose off of the ground. Beloved was airborne, for this was Braviary's Fly attack.

Red looked very impressed. "You had your Delcatty keep using Assist, a move that randomly chooses an attack known by any Pokémon in your party, in hopes of one specific move. A strategy that relies solely on luck. I like it!" evaluated Red. "Okay, Aero, give it a Hyper Beam!"

Beloved effortlessly danced around the attack, placing himself closer to Aero. "You know what I'm about to say next, don't you, Beloved?" she called. Beloved blanketed himself in water and sped into Aero. This move- Aqua Jet- belonged to Samurott, and was super-effective.

Before Aero could hit the ground, Red returned it and attached its ball to his belt. "You're up, Pika," he said to his Pikachu. The yellow Mouse Pokémon jumped down from Red's shoulder with sparks flying from it's red cheeks.

"Pika, go in for a Quick Attack!" Pika was a yellow blur as it hit Beloved in the side. Red's Pikachu was definitely faster than Beloved, so she would have to find a way to make up for that.

"Use Sing!" Beloved sang a slow and beautiful song. Musical notes swirled around him before going at Red's Pika. Pika managed to dodge most of them, but was struck with a sneaky eighth note. Pika yawned and rubbed its eyes as it lethargically sunk to the ground. Before long it was fast asleep. "Assist, Beloved," said Touko. Beloved landed on the ground, ending the Fly attack, and raised his head. A small blue orb formed in front of his open mouth and slowly drifted high into the air. _'Dammit!'_ she panicked. It was Zekrom's Fusion Bolt. She hadn't thought about the possibility of Assist being that move! As the blue orb paused mid-air and became bigger still, Touko looked around at Red, Blue, and Green. They were watching the attack with wide eyes. When Blue's gaze darted to her, Touko hurriedly looked in N's direction. Making eye-contact, a look of dismay crossed his face just as the Fusion Bolt came down upon Pika.

The yellow mouse flew through the air, still half-asleep, and met the ground with a small thud. Shaking its fur out, Pika got back to its feet, facing Beloved. Pika was an electric type after all, so even that attack wasn't enough to knock it out. But still, it must have been very strong to take that and not be seriously hurt. The attack left a crater that was big enough for her whole team- minus Zekrom- to fit in.

Touko felt all eyes on her.

Red was first to speak. "Whoa!" he exclaimed. "What Pokémon do you have that knows a move like that?"

She honestly didn't know what to say. N had made it clear that Zekrom and Reshiram weren't Pokémon the flaunt about whenever way they pleased all while they were eating breakfast. Now she had potentially blown the secret because she didn't think... What could she say?

Luckily, she didn't have to say anything, because at that moment an odd steel Pokémon with four legs descended between Beloved and Pika. Standing on it's back was the man she had met at the hotel yesterday, Steven. He had his back facing her while he spoke with the first Pokédex holders. "You must come with me immediately," he said in an urgent tone. "I have received word that there is another attack, this time on Viridian City."

Blue was off on an orange flying Pokémon with a flame on its tail as soon as Steven finished the second sentence. Green followed on a pink Pokémon that inflated itself with air, and Steven on his steel one. Red quickly approached her and put a hand on her shoulder. "We won't be of any use out there with fainted Pokémon. Let's hurry and get them healed!"

"You mean you're going to let me help? We didn't finish the battle..." said Touko.

Red smiled. "I think you've proven yourself."

They began giving their Pokémon Revives and spraying them with potions. N helped Touko with hers, healing Samurott while she was busy with Braviary. "We'll have to be careful when we face the Dire Army," he said.

"I know," Touko replied, searching Braviary's feathers for wounds that might be unseen.

"Stay with me the whole time. If something happens and we become separated, look for Red, Blue, Green, or that other guy. Don't try to fight them on your own, especially if Dread is with them. Also, I know how you are, so don't do anything reckless."

"Would you please stop telling me what to do?" Touko snapped, bringing an apologetic look to N's face. "I am not a little kid. You should know that more than anyone!"

"I... just don't want to see you get hurt..."

She instantly felt bad for going off at him like she did. "I shouldn't have yelled at you, but It's going to be okay, because I have confidence that you'll be there when I need you."

They exchanged smiles and finished up healing the Pokémon. Braviary flapped his wings, now in excellent condition after the battle. Red was done tending to his Pokémon, too. "Let's hurry," he stated as he was hoisted into the air by Aero.

N called his Archeops out and he and Touko both departed at the same time from the devastated town. Looking down, Touko couldn't help but think it looked sort of familiar. It was a lot like Nuvema, besides the fact that it was completely destroyed at the moment. It was small and had a view of the ocean. _'This is no time to be homesick,'_/i she told herself.

Their flight wasn't very long at all. When they landed in Viridian City the place was in complete havoc. The mixed cries of people and Pokémon polluted the air. Stray shots from Pokémon battles made even standing there hazardous. Directly in front of them was the limp body of a small bird Pokémon. Touko found out it was called a Spearow from her Pokédex.

She looked over at N, who was staring at the Pokémon with an unreadable expression. He slowly knelt down and took the tiny and beaten body into his arms, cradling it. His face was painfully void of expression.

"N..." she said sympathetically. She knew how strongly he felt towards Pokémon. Seeing them in this way must be killing him. "We can go back to the hotel..."

"No," responded N, placing the Spearow gently back on the ground where it had been. "They're going to pay for this." It seemed like he was talking more to the deceased Pokémon than to her.

"Is he going to be okay?" asked Red.

Touko glanced back at N. There was sadness and anger in his eyes.

She wasn't too sure about Red's question.


	12. Chapter 12

N trailed behind while Touko and Red searched for Steven and the rest amongst the chaos. They kept having to dodge Pokémon and attacks, but no one had directly engaged them in battle yet. Oh God, the battles. They were terrible to just watch. The trainers of Viridian City who were trying to fight back didn't stand a chance. A few of them were starting to realize this and were retreating before they lost any Pokémon. Or any more, that is. Cases just like the Spearow's were all around. Touko had never seen anything like this before. It was making her feel sick. This was disgusting. Why would anyone get any enjoyment from doing this to Pokémon? Every single one of these bodies strewn on the ground was somebody's friend. She hesitantly looked back at N, who had fallen even further behind. She couldn't even imagine how he must be feeling now. "Red, I'm going to walk with N," she informed him. "You can go on ahead and look for Steven."

Red looked reluctant to leave them, but he continued ahead at a faster pace. "Be careful!" he warned.

Touko stood there and waited for N to catch up. When he had, she fell into step with him. They walked without a word to each other at first. She noticed that whenever there was an exceptionally loud Pokémon cry, he would flinch and scrunch his eyes tightly shut. "Are you doing okay?" she asked, watching his face carefully.

"I can hear them, Touko- their voices. They're in so much pain... They're hurting, and there's nothing I can do to-"

Without warning, Touko wrapped her arms around his neck in a comforting hug. Since N was quite taller than her, the top half of him was pulled down and his back gained a small arch. Her shoulder now supported his head. "You shouldn't talk like that," she spoke. "It doesn't suit you."

"But Touko, things are different from before. I no longer have followers to assist me. When it comes down to taking on the Dire Army..." he voice trailed off as he went silent again.

Seeing and hearing all these Pokémon like this had obviously shaken him up. The determination he had shown earlier must have ebbed away. He had only ever heard about this sort of thing from the ones Ghetsis had brought him, it seemed. "Before you even think about taking the whole organization down, why don't we focus on stopping this attack? That 'Dread' person will probably be around here somewhere because he anticipated Steven showing up, right?"

"I suppose..."

"And if we can somehow defeat him..."

"... the rest of them will flee?"

Touko nodded. "That's the idea. With the combined power of the Heroes of Unova, surely we can take him."

N reached behind his neck and pulled her arms from around it, holding both by their wrists. "I'm not hero. The only thing I did was give everyone grief. I know I should have said this earlier, but I'm sorry; for everything. I am so-"

"N," she interrupted. "Shut up."

He looked confused at her slightly harsh choice of words.

Touko continued. "If you don't think of yourself as a hero, well, whatever. Help me as a friend then. Come on!" she urged, pulling him along. Much to her relief, he went with her, matching pace.

"Wait," said N, halting. "I think I know a way to make finding Dread a lot easier." A Rattata ran by them, desperately trying to escape the all-out brawl. N scooped it up as it neared him. At first the small Pokémon squirmed in N's grasp, reaching its head around to bite. "I'm not going to hurt you," he assured. The Rattata visibly relaxed, but still looked frightened. "You look terrified! What happened to you in the midst of all that?" The Rattata squeaked a reply that could only be understood by N. "And do you have any idea who their leader is...? Really? Where is he...? I'll keep that in mind."

Touko smiled as she watched the back and forth conversation between the two. It was so odd. To anyone who didn't know about N's ability to speak with Pokémon, he would come off as crazy. She envied his gift. She would love to be able to talk with her Pokémon. N was amazing in more ways than one. If only he knew it...

N placed the Rattata back on the ground and it continued its frantic run away from Viridian City. "It said that it saw someone who might have been their leader near a big building at the back of this city. He is apparently being protected from the trainers that were fighting back by the invading forces. No one can get close to him."

"But since Steven is here somewhere, he should be showing himself soon to fight him off. Once one of the Dire Army notices that Red, Blue, and Green are in the area, that'll bring him out for sure," said Touko. "So that means we have to find the others and tell them!"

A sudden uproar from ahead told Touko that her senior Pokédex owners had been spotted and recognized. They followed the sound of shouting to the place where their new friends were cornered. She and N went to join them.

"There you are!" greeted Red. "We were beginning to worry about you two. Get your Pokémon ready. This might get ugly."

Touko sent Samurott and Excadrill out of their Poké Balls while N did the same with Zoroark. "Dread is in Viridian City somewhere. He's going to be here soon."

"You're from the hotel..." remarked Steven. "Never would have guessed I'd see you again in these circumstances. Stay on your guard around Dread. He is not your conventional villain per se... but he's dangerous, nonetheless."

"Over there!" exclaimed Green, pointing as a few of the Dire Army members parted and a figure stepped out, followed by another. The first one was male with jet-black hair. He was dressed in a gray shirt and blue jeans with a black coat. On his face he wore a pair of shades and snakebite piercings on either side of his lower lip. To Touko there was something about him... maybe it was the way he strolled out with a smirk on his face, or even the way he approached them without any caution whatsoever. He looked like a jackass.

The person that followed him was a woman in a short white dress with one sleeve, where a shoulder was exposed. She had long, wavy, copper hair and hazel eyes. Her face was far more serious than her associate.

"That's him," noted Steven, refferring to the black-haired young man. "That is Dire General Dread. I don't know who the woman is."

This guy was one of the feared generals of the Dire Army? Unbelievable.

"Spread the word that I said to stop the attack," commanded Dread to one of his subordinates. "It's getting tedious anyway."

"Yes sir!"

Touko couldn't believe he was stopping the assault just like that. Sure enough, the rest of his followers came to stand behind him. They hadn't brought as many people as she thought. There were only a little over twenty of them.

"I was beginning to think you guys wouldn't show again," began Dread, that smirk never leaving his face. "It would have been a shame for this nice city to end up like your poor hometown."

This inflamatory remark aroused anger in the Pallet Town kids. "If you only wanted us, there was no reason to destroy the homes of people who are not involved," Red proclaimed.

"Oh," replied Dread sarcastically, shrugging. "Well, it's not my problem." This only made them angrier.

"What do you want with us?" questioned Blue. He looked furious, but his voice was level and calm.

"Me? Nothing- but someone wants you taken care of apparently. Some old guy came to our leader with an interesting proposition. He also said that you guys posed a threat to that proposition. I personally don't see it, but orders are orders. I have to get rid of you."

"Quit talking to them and do it, you idiot," hissed the woman in an irritated fashion. "I want to leave this wretched place as soon as possible."

Dread moved his head in a way that Touko was sure indicated he was rolling his eyes behind those shades. "You're free to leave whenever you want, love."

The woman wrinkled her nose. "You know I can't do that. As much as you disgust me, I was told to babysit your pathetic self to make sure you didn't screw up like yesterday."

"I got bored," was Dread's reply. "Throwing around Mr. Steel over there's poor excuses for Pokémon was no fun at all. If these guys had taken any longer to get here, I probably would have done the same thing, regardless of whether or not you were present. Watching all these Pokémon get beaten down so easily was fun at first, but after a while it gets old."

Before Touko knew what was happening, Zoroark shot from behind her, going straight for Dread. She turned her attention to N, who was angrier than she had ever seen him before, with eyes like blue fire. There was a loud CLANG as Zoroark's claws collided with the large, toothy, head appendage of a short human-like Pokémon.

"Mawile, use Crunch," instructed the eccentric general. Mawile's jaws clamped shut around Zoroark's arm, causing the Illusion Fox Pokémon to let out a deafening wail of pain that made Touko shudder.

"Zoroark!" shouted N, his rage dissolved to be replaced by horror as his friend struggled to free itself, all the while howling in agony.

"Have you guys ever seen a one-armed Zoroark before? Wouldn't that be an interesting sight?" wondered Dread, his tone no different than before. He spoke like the whole thing was a game to him, and Touko couldn't stand it.

There had to be something she could do to free Zoroark. Excadrill and Samurott were the two Pokémon she had out. Neither any attacks that would help with the situation. Any moves that would send Mawile flying would potentially send Zoroark- or its arm- with it. Could N send it back into its Poké Ball? Touko didn't think so, judging by the distance between the two. If N or anyone else moved to get closer, there was no doubt in her mind that Dread's Mawile would deprive Zoroark of an arm.

"Confusion, Golduck," came Blue's voice. The Pokémon that Blue had with him's eyes glowed in response, as well as Mawile's whole body. Dread's Pokémon tried to struggle against the attack, but its jaws were forced apart just enough for Zoroark to be freed. The injured Pokémon hurried back to N with its arm hanging useless at its side and was quickly returned to its Poké Ball.

N had that expression again. The one he had shown when he saw the Spearow. She didn't like it at all. That empty look scared her. It was a reminder to her that the scars Ghetsis had left were still very much there, creeping to the surface at N's most vulnerable times. Touko took his hand, which seemed to do the trick, because he snapped out of it and gave her hand an appreciative squeeze.

"You guys are such wet blankets," sighed Dread, sounding somewhat irritated that Zoroark had escaped.

The woman who was with Dread walked forward. "You are useless after all," she said over her shoulder as she passed him. "I'll take care of them myself."

Dread opened his mouth as if he was going to protest, but stopped himself, a smile decorating his face. "Be my guest."

The woman released a purple sludge-looking Pokémon with a horrible stench, and a yellow one that was striped with black and released electricity. "I am Dire General Anica. Which one of you wants to battle first? The price for losing is both you and your Pokémon's lives."

Steven at once stepped forward, releasing another Pokémon to fight alongside his first. "Metagross and Claydol, go!" he commanded, sending the two Pokémon charging. "Prepare yourselves, guys. Claydol, Sandstorm!" The Claydol responded by whipping up a huge sandstorm.

Touko braced herself as she and everyone else in the area was buffeted by wind and sand. An exceptionally strong gust knocked her off her feet and actually carried her around a bit. She let out a scream, which she instantly regretted, because at that moment sand came rushing into her mouth.

"Where are you?" She could barely hear N's voice through the whistling sandstorm. Touko was deposited by the wind roughly on the ground. She stayed there on her knees, wondering what to do. She couldn't see. She couldn't hear. She couldn't even breathe properly without covering her nose and mouth with her hand. She was defenseless. Touko jumped when she felt something nudging against her back. Unsure of what it was, she scrambled in the opposite direction. The thing followed her, nudging her arm this time. She reached her hand out to touch whatever it was, and instantly recognized it.

"Excadrill!" she said, throwing her arms around the ground and steel-type Pokémon. Another nudge told her that Samurott was there too. Excadrill, not being affected by the sandstorm, must have guided his water-type friend to her. She put Samurott back into its Poké Ball. "Excadrill, I can't see, so I'm pretty much lost here. Would you lead me out of this sandstorm?" She placed her hand on Excadrill's head and it began to guide her. After a while of walking, Touko felt that she was no longer being punched in the face by sand. She was out! She then wiped the sand from her eyes and slowly blinked them open. "Thank you!" she said to Excadrill, returning it.

"Hello, there," said a dark, smug, voice. Before she could run, Dread grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him, her back against his chest. He had one arm around her waist and the other crossed uncomfortably between her breasts and covered her mouth. "You made three fatal mistakes to end up in this position," he spoke directly into her ear. "The one you just made, mistake number three, was not having any Pokémon out to protect you. Mistake number two was letting yourself get separated from your boyfriend and your little group. And mistake number one..."

"Get your hands off of her!" shouted N, a steely look in his eyes. He had just gotten out of the sandstorm and found them.

Dread's grip only tightened. "If you even try to save her, I'll have Beedrill here run her through." With a buzzing sound, a yellow and black bug Pokémon flew down from a tree and stood next to them, showing off its twin stinger arms. "Oh wait, that's not a nice thing to say, Dread..." he added to himself out loud. He talked to himself, too? Gosh, this guy was a creep.

N froze, looking sick, as if he were imagining one of those arms going straight through her body. "Why? You didn't come here to kill her. She isn't one of your targets!"

"Oh really?" Dread replied. The arm that was around her waist shifted and slipped into her bag. He pulled out the small pink device that was her Pokédex. "The reason why that old man wanted the other three eliminated was because they all had one of these. Because you also have one, you are one of my targets." He removed his hand from over her mouth, allowing her to speak.

"But how did you know I had a Pokédex?" she asked. She hadn't taken it out in from of him.

"You mean you don't remember me?" asked Dread, sounding disappointed.

"Remember you? What?"

With the hand that had been covering her mouth, Dread removed his shades.

She couldn't see for herself what his face looked like, but N's eyes widened in recognition. "Touko, he's that guy from the island!"

All the pieces fell together at that moment. He hadn't had his snakebites in, or his shades on then, but that had been Dread. The attack on Pallet Town had been taking place while they were on the island. That phone call he had received was his subordinates calling him about Steven, who had shown up to stop them. While he was leaving, she had used her Pokédex to identify his Yanmega. According to N, the Yanmega had been saying evil things. It made sense.

"That was your first mistake, sweetheart." By the tone of Dread's voice, Touko knew he was wearing that irritating smirk again. "This might come as a surprise to you, but I actually don't love the idea of killing people your age. I have such a guilty conscience..."

Touko might have laughed had she not been in the arms of this weirdo.

"Then let her go," said N, trying to remain calm. Touko knew how much he must despise Dread and the rest of the army.

"Hey, good point!" Dread shoved Touko forward and stepped back himself just before an Air Slash sliced through the spot they had been standing. N moved forward and caught her.

Touko looked in the direction the attack had come from. Her eyes found a reddish-brown bird Pokémon that reminded her of a Spearow. On its back was Anica, staring down at them all with contempt.

"You fool, I almost hit her! Why did you push her away?"

"...Reflex?" Dread replied in the form of a question.

Anica released an exasperated sigh. "We're leaving!" she dictated.

"Your battle is over already?" asked Dread. He punctuated this with laughter. "You lost, didn't you? That's hilarious! And you called me a sorry excuse for a general. At least I didn't lose."

"Shut up! Don't think I won't be telling the leader about how useless you were in this mission," she retorted with bitterness.

Dread returned Beedrill and produced his Yanmega, sitting on it in the same fashion as before. "Tell him, love. See if he cares enough to do something about it. He'll be too caught up in how you _lost._"

N tensed at the reappearance of the bloodthirsty Yanmega and tightened his hold on Touko. The both watched in silence as the two generals departed, still trading insults. They were briefly followed by the rest of the army, all on different flying Pokémon of their own. Only when they were all gone did N finally let go of her. "That was too close," he commented awkwardly. "Those two don't think very fondly of each other, do they? That Air Slash would have hit both you and Dread."

"Why did he push me out of the way...? He could have just moved himself and let the attack hit me. Because I'm one of his targets, it would have been convenient," Touko speculated, picking up her Pokédex from the ground where Dread had dropped it.

"It was most likely to spite Anica," answered N.

"I guess you're right..."

"Hey, Touko, N!"

At the sound of their names, they turned their heads and found Red, Green, Blue, and Steven. They didn't look as happy as they should have.

"Steven won the battle, but... one of his Pokémon..." Green explained.

One of Steven's Pokémon was killed. "Oh... I'm sorry, Steven," Touko expressed sympathetically.

Steven managed a sad smile. "You haven't anything to be sorry about. Time heals all wounds, and mine will be no different. Please don't worry yourself over me."

_'Time heals all wounds...'_ Her eyes traveled to N, who was busy looking down at Zoroark through its Poké Ball. Steven was right. The thought of N being able to be happy was enough to make Touko happy herself. N was going to be fine. She would see to that.


	13. Chapter 13

After parting ways with the Pallet Town kids yesterday, Touko and N had returned to the hotel and spent the rest of the day in their rooms recovering from the experience. She and N had already decided they would spend today around the hotel, too. There were many things they could do, all without having to set foot off the property. At the moment, they were eating breakfast. Afterwards, they would go to the water park, stay there until they got hungry again, eat, then play with their Pokémon outside. Touko was glad to be spending so much time with N just having fun. It would be the first time the didn't have anything to worry about.

"How is Zoroark?" asked Touko across the table to N. The last time she had seen it, N's dark-type friend didn't have the use of one of its arms.

"I took him to the Pokémon Center yesterday. I went and picked him up earlier, before you were up. The nurse said he'll be able to use the arm at full strength in a week or so. It's only broken, and Pokémon heal faster than humans," answered N, fumbling as he removed something from his pocket. He stood up and slid into the booth next to her with a paper in his hand. "What do you think about this?" he questioned, handing her the paper.

Touko took it and examined it. It was a flyer for a formal dance night scheduled that night. She raised an eyebrow in apprehension. "What am I supposed to think?"

"We should go!" he said excitedly. "You would look pretty in a dress."

Touko tried to hide her blush by looking the other way. "D-don't be silly," she stammered, pushing the flyer back at him. "and don't say things like that!"

"Come on, Touko! It'll be fun, I promise."

"No... I don't even know how to dance like that," she admitted, twirling her hair with her finger.

"It's easy. All you'll need to do is follow my lead. Please?" he pleaded once more.

She couldn't help but give in. "Okay, you win. Can we please go to the water park now?" Touko wasn't as against dancing with N as she was letting on. Her heartbeat increased when she imagined it. It also made her incredibly nervous.

After paying for breakfast, they went back to their rooms so they could get their swimsuits on. Touko had left her swimsuit at home, so when they had made plans to go to the water park yesterday, she went out and bought a new one. This one was a two-piece with pink and black Liepard print. As soon as she had it on, she looked herself over in the mirror. Was it a bit too... revealing? She adjusted the top a bit and decided it would have to do. There would surely be girls there that were much worse. Putting her tank-top and shorts back on over the swimsuit, she sat on her bed and scratched Beloved behind his ears. Along with insisting on being in her lap, Beloved had also been acting a tad agitated, as if something was wrong. Touko really wished she knew what was on his mind. Maybe she could get N to talk to him later. "I'd take you with me if you didn't hate being wet so much..." Beloved's tail lashed back and forth in response. "I'll be gone for a while, but N and I will be back later and we'll play with you and everyone else outside," she informed pleasantly. Beloved's ears pinned back suddenly, and he curled into a tight circle. Touko frowned and left the room to go meet N.

When she took her first step into the water park, Touko was greeted by the excited screams of people having fun. To the left of her was the kiddie area where small children were enjoying themselves, and to the right was the wave pool. Past both of them was the rides. That's where she and N were going. Touko discarded her shorts and tank top into a locker and looked around for the green-haired guy that she cared so much about. She spotted him as he entered wearing his black under-armor and some black swim-trunks. Now inside, he pulled the under-armor off over his head. N wasn't the most muscled guy around, but she had known that already. He did have a nice body though.

Then he noticed her. N's face flushed a deep red as he approached Touko. "H-hey," was the only thing he managed to say.

Touko thought it was cute how his eyes were darting around, looking at everything but her. She laughed at his modesty. "I'm right here, N."

"I-I know, b-b-but..."

Touko grabbed his arm and began to lead him to the water rides before things got even more awkward. They grabbed a double inner-tube and together hoisted it up the long flight of stairs that led to the first ride. "So..." she began trying to gt rid of the silence between them as they waited in line. "Have you ever been on one of these?"

"No... Are you sure this is safe?" He was still trying to avoid looking at her. Instead he focused his eyes on the ground, quite a ways below them.

"Of course!" she said smiling. "I used to go to places like this with Cheren and Bianca." She had just reminded herself of how homesick she was. Touko leaned against the railing and sighed.

"You miss them, don't you?" N asked. "And you regret coming with me..."

"Not at all- Er, well I do miss them... My whole life I have never gone this long without seeing them. We used to be inseparable..." Touko could tell this wasn't helping N to feel better, so she hurried and continued. "But N, I'm having a great time. Yesterday could have gone better, but here I am in Kanto! I got to meet the first owners of the Pokédex, and I'm staying a a wonderful hotel, and that's just what's happened so far! What is there to regret?" she explained. She twirled her hair as a blush surfaced on her cheeks. "Plus... I feel like I'm getting closer to you..."

For the first time since they had been in the water park, N was looking directly at her. He was blushing too, and there was a smile on his face. "There's something I've been wanting to ask you," he said nervously.

"Ask away."

"I-I don't really know how to put this into words... Do you-... I mean... Are we..."

"You guys are up!" called the ride attendant, startling them both. He smiled and motioned for them to step up.

Touko and N dropped the inner-tube in front of the slide and climbed in. The arm keeping the tube from going down slowly rose, and the attendant gave them a push with his foot. Touko went down in front. At first, the ride was all about speed, and nothing else. She didn't notice she was screaming until they reached the big drop, where she tried to opened her mouth to scream and found it already open. When a series of twists, turns, and drops were over, they finally came out at the end of the slide. There was one problem, though. They were a good thirty to thirty-five feet in the air. They began a terrifying free-fall, in which Touko was sure they would die. The tube flipped over, leaving them to fall. At this point, she was screaming her head off, but looking at N, she found him laughing. They were about to die. How was he laughing? That's when a column of water shot up from somewhere far below, catching them. The high-pressurized water lowered them carefully onto the back of a round blue Pokémon with a blowhole. So that's where the water had come from. Touko's heart was still racing when the blue Pokémon started to carry them leisurely through a stretch of water.

N was happily patting the large Pokémon on the back. "This is a Wailmer!" he exclaimed. "I read a book on ocean Pokémon once, and these guys were in it."

"Weren't you afraid?" solicited Touko.

N laughed again. "Not at all! She said she was going to catch us, and I had complete faith that she would," he replied, giving the Wailmer another pat. Wailmer splashed her two fins in the water, sending up a spray.

So if Touko could understand Pokémon, she might have been spared a near heart-attack. She dipped her hand into the water. "What were you trying to ask me earlier?"

The redness returned to N's face. "It's stupid."

The Wailmer stopped in front of a platform where another attendant was waiting. This was the end of the ride. N crossed over to the platform and offered his hand to Touko. She took it, and he pulled her safely across. "We should come back to this one before we leave!" he suggested.

"Sure! At least I'll be ready next time," she joked.

* * *

><p>Now that the water park and lunch were out of the way, it was time to play with the Pokémon. The hotel had a nice open area for just that purpose. Touko made a big deal out of identifying every unfamiliar Pokémon she passed with her Pokédex. She wanted to learn as many of this region's Pokémon as possible so she wouldn't be at a disadvantage in battle, like what happened with Braviary and Red's Aerodactyl.<p>

"Touko, stop doing that and get over here!" called N. He already had all of his Pokémon out.

Touko hurried and got one more Pokémon - a Crobat - with her Pokédex and shoved the device in her bag. "Sorry!" she apologized, running to N and releasing all of her Pokémon - save for Zekrom - out into the field. They couldn't play with Zekrom or Reshiram because of the attention problem again. N had told her it was alright because they weren't the "playing" type anyway.

Their Pokémon acted wary of each other at first. The last time they had all been out at the same time was when they were fighting against each other. Beloved ignored N's Pokémon altogether and found a patch of grass in which to sun himself in. Zoroark, with his broken limb now in a cast, was the first to slowly approach the opposite Team. Excadrill went forward to meet him.

Touko began to worry when the two of them raised one clawed arm threateningly at each other. "Hey, stop!" she shouted, moving to separate them.

N held an arm out in front of her. "Wait a minute."

Excadrill and Zoroark's claws clashed, and they held the position. There was no aggression in this, however. They were actually grinning. The ice now broken, the rest of the Pokémon started to mingle and play. All except for Beloved, who made no attempt to move even the slightest bit.

Touko picked up one of the toys designed specifically for Pokémon that were put out here by the hotel. It was a Frisbee that could withstand almost any attack. She threw it into the air, not really caring what Pokémon responded to it. N's Klinklang unleashed a Thunderbolt that hit the Frisbee dead in the center. The disc fell and Touko picked it up to examine. Surprisingly, it was completely intact. Samurott walked up and put his jaws around it, trying to pull it away from her. Just like that, Touko was pulled into a playful game of tug of war with her starter; a game that she ultimately lost. In no time she was being dragged across the grass with ease.

N seemed to think this was hilarious, because he guffawed and clapped his hands. "Need some help?" he offered.

"No, I like being dragged around on my face," she said with sarcasm, standing up.

He chuckled and reached his arms around Touko, much to her delight. Taking the Frisbee in both hands, N pulled with her. Their combined strength was only just enough to stop Samurott from pulling them along. They had come to a standstill. Samurott shook his head from side to side, making Touko lose her grip on the disc and fall back into N, knocking him over as well. She landed on top him in a daze.

"I'm so sorry!" she said, quickly getting off of him while Samurott barked in victory and joined the rest of the Pokémon.

N remained lying on the ground, laughing.

Seeing him like this again brought a smile to Touko's face. He was acting just like he had back on that island, before their encounter with Dread, whom they had been unacquainted with at the time.

N's laughter died off and he went still, gazing with his blue eyes at the equally blue sky. She had always thought N had pretty eyes. Both she and him had blue eyes, but hers were much darker, like the ocean. His were like the sky - a light, clear, blue.

"Touko, where do you think Ghetsis is?" asked N, his eyes never straying from above.

She thought about his question for a bit. "Well... there's no way we could know for sure, but... maybe he was found and brought back to prison. If not, I doubt he stuck around Unova."

N didn't respond. There was obviously something on his mind that he wasn't revealing to her. She could only wonder what was going on in that head of his.

* * *

><p>"You look... gorgeous," remarked N as Touko walked up to him in the lobby of the hotel in a short, black, spaghetti-strap dress. N himself was dressed in a black tuxedo that made him look rather spiffy.<p>

Touko's face flushed at his compliment. Bianca had made her buy the dress a while ago, but she had never gotten the opportunity to wear it before. She was kind of surprised that she had even packed it when she left home. It must have been grabbed absentmindedly in her bout of anger towards Cheren. "Thanks... that tux fits you nicely."

"We're late as it is, so let's hurry!" said N, leading the way to the place where the dance was being held. When they arrived, the dancing had already begun. The band was playing a slow song. N turned to her with his face a light shade of red.

Oh. This was the part where they start to dance. "I-I don't... really know what to do," said Touko shyly.

N smiled at her and, taking her arms, put them on his shoulders. He then cautiously placed his hands on her hips. "Is this uncomfortable for you?"

She shook her head, though at this point it felt like her face was on fire. When N began to sway them slowly back and forth with the music, Touko gradually relaxed. N was actually calmer than she was. He sparked conversation and told her funny stories from when he was growing up with Pokémon. By the end of the fourth one, she was laughing uncontrollably. "Wow, I never knew a boy and his Zorua could get into that much trouble!" she giggled. While N was talking, their bodies had progressed closer together.

"Things were so much simpler back then... before..." replied N, with a faraway look in his eyes. They stopped moving with the music, and stood motionless while everyone around them continued to dance. N's expression changed drastically. He was no longer looking at her. His gaze seemed to rest on something behind Touko.

She turned her head and searched for someone - something - that he could be looking at that was having this effect on him. She saw nothing. She looked back at him. It looked like N was afraid of something. "N? What's wrong?" she asked, shaking him a bit.

N blinked and at once there was a smile back on his face. "What are you talking about? Nothing is wrong."

"Why are you lying?"

"Did you know that you're beautiful?"

"S-stop trying to change the subject! You already said that..." she said, her face becoming red again.

"No, not just now. All the time," responded N.

Were their faces this close a few seconds ago?

N moved closer still. Their lips were now on the verge of coming in contact.

Holy crap, he was about to kiss her! Waiting for the moment their lips would meet, Touko's breathing stopped, and almost as if to compensate, her heart sped up. Then, much to her irritation, something furry and heavy landed on her shoulders and pushed it's way between her and N. That something was Beloved. "What are you doing here?" she hissed at the Pokémon in her arms.

"He says he doesn't feel well," translated N in a concerned voice. "Perhaps it's time we leave."

Touko placed Beloved back on the ground, and they made their way away from the dance to her room. The whole time they were walking, Beloved switched from limping to yowling and combinations of both. Somehow, she doubted he was in _that_ much pain. As soon and she opened the door to her room, he went straight to her bed.

"I hope it isn't anything serious," said N from the doorway. "Do you think he needs to go to the Pokémon Center?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine without that," she replied.

N backed out of the doorway and into the hall. "I'm really tired, so I'm going to head off to my room. 'Night."

"'Night. Oh, and today was fun..."

"I think so, too." With one final look at each other, N was gone, leaving Touko to take care of Beloved.

* * *

><p>N walked alone to his room, his head swamped with worry and uncertainty; thoughts of the Dire Army; thoughts of the man he had the misfortune of calling his father; and thoughts of Touko.<p>

As of late, he craved a certain closeness to her that he could not comprehend. He wanted to be where she was all the time. The thought of her leaving him scared him to death. Touko was his savior, his security, and his only human friend. He couldn't tell her the extent of his dependence on her, of course. He didn't want her to feel weighed down; like she was with him because she had to be. He was pathetic, relying on her like this... but when he was with her, his heart felt light, and everything that worried him seemed distant. It was when he was alone that he felt troubled. He had even started noticing little things about her that she probably didn't know herself, like how she had the cutest habit of twirling her hair around her finger when she was nervous. She meant so much to him... Which is why he hadn't been able to worry her with his main problem while they were dancing.

The Dire Army... ever since the encounter with that horrible organization, something Dread had told them had been eating at him. Who was this "old guy" that wanted the Pokédex owners disposed of? Could it be Ghetsis? No, of course not. He was being paranoid. There were probably plenty of "old guys" in the world that might have something against Pokédex wielders for whatever reason. He was over-analyzing things again. Confronting his father scared him almost as much losing Touko did. He never wanted to see that man again. He had already had enough of his life stolen away from him. So not only was he pathetic, but a coward as well. What a detestable combination.


	14. Chapter 14

It had been three weeks since she had left Unova with N. Touko sat on her bed, staring down at the small device in her hand - her Xtransceiver. Though she still wore it every day, the batteries had long been taken out to keep people that might be searching for her from calling. At the moment she was seriously considering putting them back in. What was she thinking? She couldn't possibly contact anyone from her home town, no matter how much she missed them. If she did that, then they would surely insist on her returning home. Were Cheren and Bianca still angry at her? She hadn't exactly been on good terms with either of them before she left.

Beloved lay next to her with his head resting on her leg. She gave him a pat on the head. "What should I do?" Touko asked him. "I want everyone to know that I'm okay, but... if I did call them, I wouldn't know what to say. 'Hey, I'm just calling to say that I'm fine, but I don't plan on going back any time soon?' I can't tell them that! Mom would have a fit." A knock on her door caused her to jump. She quickly put the Xtransceiver back on her wrist and went to open it. On the other side was N.

"I need some fresh air. Come with me?" he offered.

"I'd love to," said Touko, stepping out of the room and almost closing the door on Beloved, who had hurriedly pushed his way through. "You want to come with us? Okay then, let's go."

While they were traveling to the hotel doors, Touko called to mind the time they had almost kissed. She had felt N's lips just brush against hers before Beloved decided to interrupt. And of course as soon as they had gotten back to the room, he seemed perfectly fine. He had even started batting his Poké Ball around the room with his paws to entertain himself. Touko looked sideways at N. Nothing had changed since then. He hadn't tried to kiss her again, and they hadn't even talked about it. It was like it never happened. This frustrated her, but she understood romance wasn't exactly N's forte.

Now that they were outside, Touko realized how late it was. Most of the day was already gone. It would be getting dark soon. They were in the Pokémon play area, where a few people and Pokémon were still about. N picked a spot a little ways away from them and sat down in the grass with his back against a tree. She sat across from him and found Beloved once again in her lap. The feline Pokémon's large brown eyes were trained on the former leader of Team Plasma.

"I'm worried about you," began N, propping his head on his knee.

This again? He was always finding something to fuss over her about.

"Well, about your safety, anyways," he continued. "The Dire Army probably still wants to be rid of you. From what I gathered, Dread was put in charge of that task."

"Yeah, but he didn't seem very... um, competent," she said doubtfully.

"He was made one of their generals for a reason, Touko," N warned. "You saw the way he was willing to have his Mawile bite off Zoroark's arm, did you not? He was also in charge of the attacks on both Pallet Town and Viridian City, both just to lure the Pokédex wielders."

He had a point, but she couldn't help but think about how Dread saved her from Anica's attack when he was supposed to kill her anyway. That being true, she still didn't like him in the slightest. He just... creeped her out - Even more than N did before she had gotten to know him. Not to mention the way he uses his Pokémon. Dread definitely wasn't a good guy.

"What do you want to do?" N asked.

"I want to stay in this region if that's what you're asking," she replied without bothering to think about it. "If Red and the others can handle it, then so can I."

N sighed with a slight smile. "I thought you would say something like that, but I had to be sure. Looks like you're dead set on sticking with me, so I won't bring it up anymore."

"You finally get it. I was beginning to think you just didn't want me around," she joked.

N's face turned serious so fast that it surprised her. "That isn't true," he stated defensively.

Still a little confused by the way he responded, Touko narrowed her eyes. "Calm down, N, that comment wasn't meant to be serious, okay?"

He said nothing, but looked down at the grass.

"It's getting dark, so let's go inside," Touko suggested.

N got to his feet and brushed himself off before reaching down to help her up. What happened next was completely unanticipated.

In one explosive movement, Beloved intercepted N's hand and sank his teeth into it, biting down hard. His fur stood up on end as he growled and stared up at N with eyes of venom.

At first, no one did anything out of shock. "Beloved!" Touko exclaimed disbelievingly. "What's wrong with you? Let go of him!" The Pokémon gave no sign of complying.

N was unconcerned with the pain in his hand and the blood that was now dripping into the grass. He instead focused on Beloved. Hearing his voice, maybe?

Remembering an easy solution to the problem, Touko forced Beloved into his Poké Ball by pressing it against his side.

N clumsily sat down, clutching his bleeding hand while Touko rummaged through her bag for the roll of bandage that she carried around just in case. It was more her mother's idea, but she was happy to have it on her at this moment. "I'm so sorry about that, I don't know what came over him! Let me see your hand."

"It doesn't hurt that much..." he said while she poured a bottle of water from her bag over the wound to get rid of some of the blood.

Doesn't hurt much? She could clearly see where Beloved's teeth had punctured his skin! He obviously had not used restraint. Yet, if she were judging by his expression, she would think it didn't hurt at all. He wasn't showing the faintest sign of feeling pain. Did he really have that high of a tolerance?

Touko wrapped the bandage around his hand tight enough to keep the bleeding under control. The way Beloved had acted must have really upset N, because while she was busy tending to his injured hand, he pouted like a kid.

"He still doesn't trust me," N said sadly. "Do you remember before we battled that day, Beloved said he hated me? I guess that feeling of animosity hasn't changed... Just now he refused to accept me as a friend and told me never to touch you again."

"I had no idea..." Touko responded. "But it explains the way he's been acting. He has been trying to put himself in my lap mainly when I'm around you." _That's why he stopped us from kissing._ "I still can't believe he would do something like this. How does your hand feel?"

"No worries, this is nothing. I've taken worse bites," he smiled, clenching and unclenching his injured hand without so much as flinching. "Shall we go back inside before it gets any darker?" he asked standing back up. He didn't try to help her up this time. Even though Beloved was inside his Poké Ball, Touko had a feeling N didn't want to do anything that would make him mad.

Awesome. Now N was afraid to come near her.

When she and N stepped back inside the hotel, Touko saw the familiar silvery hair of Steven coming out of an elevator. She waved at him, and when he laid eyes upon them, he briskly walked over.

"I was just looking for you," said Steven. "I have to be somewhere right now, but find me early tomorrow morning in Lavender Town. We need to work out a plan for dealing with the Dire Army."

Steven's sudden call for action bewildered her. She hadn't thought they would be so quick to switch from the defensive.

N must have been thinking the same thing. "What's going on?" he asked Steven.

"There's something weird going on, and I suspect The Dire Army has something to do with it. I'll tell you more when we meet tomorrow. I really must be going now." Steven stepped around them and out of the building without saying goodbye.

Touko watched him leave over her shoulder. Even though they were staying in the same hotel, she hardly ever saw him. _He must be a really busy person; much too busy to mourn the loss of his Pokémon for long._

After the elevator ride, N and Touko had to part ways to go to their rooms, which were located on different sides of the floor.

"Touko," he addressed, making her turn her head.

"Hm?"

"Please don't punish Beloved or anything. He's only trying to protect you."

"I won't."

N nodded and headed in the opposite direction of her.

When Touko made it to her her room she sat on the edge of her bed and immediately brought Beloved out of his Poké Ball. The Prim Pokémon began rubbing against her and purring, knowing that she didn't approve of what had happened a bit ago. She pushed him away. "You bit N. That's not okay. Why is it so hard for you to trust him?" she scolded. Beloved flattened his whole body to the bed and and scooted towards her again on his belly, putting his front paws on her leg and looking up at her with wide dark-brown eyes; something he had learned to do whenever she got angry at him. This adorable act always melted her anger away and made her instantly forgive him. This time was no exception. She sighed and hugged him, earning even louder purrs from the sly Pokémon. "That isn't fair," she said dryly, patting Beloved's head. "You know I can't stay mad at you when you do that."

* * *

><p>"To the north of this town is a cave called Rock Tunnel. Rumors have been circulating like crazy that an enraged monster moved into it, attacking people who enter," explained Steven to Touko and N, who had arrived in Lavender Town moments before.<p>

"A monster?" Touko repeated nervously.

Touko's face reddened when N laughed. "I never imagined you as the type to be afraid of such things as 'monsters.'"

"Don't be silly, monsters don't exist!" she retorted, turning her back to him.

"She's right. A Pokémon is probably responsible for scaring people. We're going to investigate, and if possible, stop whatever it is," Steven explained.

"Are there any clues as to what might be lurking in that cave and causing so much trouble?"

"I talked to a Hiker who encountered the supposed 'monster.' The only thing he could tell me was that it was big," told Steven, facing the direction of the cave.

So the Pokémon was large? Not that she would have any idea as to what species it was. The Pokémon of this region were, well... foreign to her.

Upon entering the cave, they were met by complete darkness. Touko sort of... accidentally grabbed N's arm. It's not like she was afraid or anything... she just didn't want to lose him in the dark.

"Hold on, I'll shed some light on the situation," said Steven from somewhere slightly ahead of them. There was the sound of a Poké Ball releasing its contents. "Claydol, use Flash!" Suddenly, the area around them was lit up by each of Claydol's many eyes. They still couldn't see that far ahead of them, but at least they wouldn't be running into walls.

"Finding what we're looking for will be difficult like this," started Steven "but there is no other way right now. It would be best not to talk loudly and walk as lightly as possible so we can hear should our monster - or any other Pokémon - try to sneak up on us."

Touko looked down at her boots. She didn't like the idea of something sneaking up on them at all.

N took a step forward, but stopped when Touko didn't move, still holding onto his arm. "Are you still afraid?" he asked in a whisper.

"I'm not," she replied quickly, "and I wasn't before!"

He didn't look convinced. Heck, she was having a hard time even convincing herself. N took her hand so that her fingers occupied the spaces between his.

It was useless to continue trying to pull the tough girl act on him, it seemed. N knew her well enough to tell when she was faking. "Th-thanks," she said, flustered.

"You're always helping me. I can at least do this. Let's not keep Steven waiting."

As the three of them progressed, Touko jumped at every noise she heard, whether it be the sound of tiny Zubat wings from above, or a pebble one of them had accidentally kicked rolling along the stony cave floor. However much she didn't want to admit it, it helped to have N holding her hand, though she felt like a frightened child, which she hated.

After nearly an hour of exploring, one sound in particular sent shivers up her spine when she heard it: the sound of a huge boulder being dragged around - and it was close. "What is that?" she asked, giving up on talking quietly.

Steven's eyes darted around. "I'm not sure, but I have a feeling we're about to find out."

His prediction rang true, because the ground began to vibrate as the noise got louder, and instead of coming from one direction, it surrounded them outside the reach of Claydol's light.

"Claydol!" shouted Steven. Reading it's trainer's mind, Claydol's light switched from being like a lantern to more of a flashlight, scanning the area around them. The beam of light came to a rest on a random spot and revealed something that made Touko think she was imagining things. A line if large boulders were moving in a circle around them - on their own.

A loud roar made thunderous by the echo of the cave forced Touko to cover her ears. A split second later, one of the boulders hurdled out of the dark and crashed into Steven's Claydol. Everything went pitch black for a moment until Claydol recovered.

"We can't fight in here!" came Steven's voice over the rumbling of the boulders' movement. "Run!"

As fast as their feet would allow, the three of them ran to the nearest exit, on the opposite side of the place where they came in.

Touko blinked her eyes, which had grown accustomed to the dark and spun around as their pursuer smashed its own exit from the side of Rock Tunnel. Her jaw dropped as by far the biggest Pokémon she had ever seen emerged from the rubble. Her hand shook as she fumbled for her Pokédex and held it out. Immediately, information about the Pokémon presented itself on the screen. "Steelix, the Iron Snake Pokémon." She had never seen anything like it. It's huge head alone looked like enough to crush a building, never mind the rest of it. She hadn't even known Pokémon could be that size.

The Steelix launched itself at them, humongous head and all.

"Metagross!" exclaimed Steven, throwing a Poké Ball in front of them. "Protect!" An invisible barrier enveloped them at just the right moment.

When their attacker hit, Touko flinched, expecting the barrier to shatter. Luckily, it held out.

"That was Double-Edge. It used that move to break out of the cave, too," observed N. "Perhaps it has the Rock Head ability, because it doesn't appear to be taking recoil damage."

An ability like that and an attack such as Double-Edge was an excellent combination; one that Touko began to desire more and more with each passing second.

Metagross' protect wore off. The agitated Pokémon backed off from them some distance, waiting to see what they would do. It looked at them with challenge in its eyes.

That was all she needed. Touko took off at a run toward the Steelix, Bisharp at her side.

"What are you doing?" shouted N. "Are you crazy?"

Touko paused long enough to reply, "I have to catch it!" and continued.

* * *

><p>Steven stopped N from running after. "If she thinks she can do it, let her," he advised.<p>

N looked from Steven to Touko, who was now out of earshot. "But I..."

"I think I have a pretty good idea of how you feel about her, but if you're always stopping her from doing the reckless, impulsive, dangerous things she wants, she'll become annoyed."

"If something happens to her, a lot of people will never forgive me, myself included."

"I see. I didn't say to leave her completely on her own, though. If she looks like she's struggling, go ahead and step in. I don't think that's necessary here. Look."

N hadn't noticed Touko had already engaged the Steelix in battle. She was phenomenal. Her and Bisharp were working in perfect sinc. Bisharp would use Iron Defense just before being hit, then swiftly counter with Brick Break, never missing a beat.

Steven smiled. "Pokédex owners have this innate habit of rising to the occasion."

He believed it. He believed it because she had done it before. How could he forget?

* * *

><p>"One more time!" Touko's voice was clear and confident as she gave the last command. "Brick Break!" Bisharp dodged under a swinging tail and drove the blade on his arm into the opponent's head - a critical hit. In almost slow motion, the Steelix's giant head slammed into the ground. Seeing her chance, she quickly retrieved a vacant Ultra Ball.<p>

"Touko," came Steven's voice from off to the side. He threw a spherical object in her direction. She caught it and gave it a closer look. It was a type of Poké Ball she had never seen before. Its gray lid had several purple bulges on it.

"It's a Heavy Ball. I think it would work much better at this moment."

She nodded a silent thanks and threw it. The Heavy Ball hit the target square on the head dragging it inside. Touko watched in anticipation as the Ball shook on the ground, making noises as Steelix tried to escape. It wasn't long before it gave one final "CLICK," signifying that Steelix was now hers.

When she bent down to pick it up, she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. Bisharp intercepted the intruder, blocking its path from Touko. She flinched, watching as one well-aimed hit fell her Bisharp and pinned it to the ground. The aggressor was another Pokémon she wasn't familiar with. It was a brown color and stood on two legs. A pair of scythe-like appendages replaced hands at the end of its arms. Bisharp struggled weakly under one clawed foot.

"You stole my pet," frowned Dread, walking casually out into the open.


	15. The Prison Within a Prison

Dread crossed his arms, walking to her. He looked at her with the same piercing gaze that froze her to the spot back on the island she had met him on. He wasn't wearing his shades, which would have made it impossible to see his eyes.

Touko tried to grab for one of her Pokémon, but Dread was faster, reaching her first and seizing her wrist. Then, taking her other one, he held her fast. Ignoring her struggling, Dread began to speak.

"I have good news for you. I've decided I'm not going to kill you. But I can't just leave you running around to get in the way, can I?" He paused, as if contemplating something. "I know! From now on, you're going to be a captive of the Dire Army.

That idea sounded about as appealing to Touko as a hug from a Pawniard. She did not lessen her struggle. "No way I'm going with you!"

A kind of devious smirk appeared on the general's face. "Don't worry, we didn't come for just you."

"We...?" Touko hadn't noticed the person standing a little ways away until now. She moved her head to the right of Dread to get a better look at them, and was immediately filled with bitter resentment and disgust. Staring back at her with a triumphant expression was Ghetsis, the person who she despised more than anyone.

_But that means..._Touko twisted her head as far as it would go to look behind her. Some Dire Army members were trying to take Steven on. N had broken away from them and was now sprinting towards her and Dread.

"N, run away!" she screamed, throwing her weight against Dread's hold frantically. She didn't know whether she had actually succeeded in pulling herself away from him, or if he had let her go. All she knew was that his hands were no longer gripping her wrists and that she and N were now running to each other. They were almost united when a fast-moving shadow overtook Touko. Ghetsis's Hydreigon dived down, snatching N by wrapping two of its heads around him. The main head hissed at her as it look to the sky again. N looked either too shocked or too afraid to struggle or even react. She reached to get Braviary; but where was her bag? A look over her shoulder told her that Dread had it hanging by the strap from his hand in the exact place she had broken free. Distraught, she turned her attention back to the sky for N. He hand Hydreigon were a mere speck in the distance. Ghetsis was gone, too. Her arms drooped at her side, the graveness of the situation sinking in. Ghetsis had N again; soon, she would be captured as well.

"Steven can't save you either, you know," remarked Dread, coming to stand beside her. "He's busy defending himself."

She didn't answer him. He was right of course. He had Pokémon and she didn't. If she ran, he would catch her undoubtedly. Not that she had had any interest in running. Sure, she would be taken prisoner by this asshole, but she would definitely escape somehow. She would escape with N.

* * *

><p>No.<p>

No, no, no, no, no, no, no!

N grabbed two handfuls of his own hair, pulling as he brought his knees close to him and buried his face in them. How had he ended up back in this god-awful place? He lifted his head, leaning it on the side of the blue and yellow kiddie half-pipe he had stared at for nearly half his life. The purple walls, the blue cloud-print carpet, all the disgustingly bright colors- they made him sick. He felt like throwing up. He could also feel a headache developing.

Here he was, back in his old prison. Or should it be called his world for the first years of his life? Before the age of eight, he had never seen the outside of this playroom as far as he remembered. It had been another two years before he actually set foot outside the castle, however.

_"N, haven't you ever wanted to see the sun?"_

_Concordia's question puzzled the six-year-old N. "Why would I want to do that? Looking into the sun is not healthy for your eyes. It causes blindness," he answered in his tiny child's voice._

He took Concordia's silence to mean she was impressed by his knowledge. "The temperature of the sun's photosphere is 'bout 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, only nothing can ever really make it to there 'cause it all burns up if it just gets close."

His nurse's mouth simply twitched in a weak smile.

"The sun is the biggest thing in the Milky Way galaxy and the closest star to Earth. Did you know that, that we are always moving around the sun in an elli... elliptipal... elliptical... path?" He demonstrated the motion by moving his toy car around a small Cranidos figurine- one of many. "Without the sun there would be no more Pokémon or people or plants 'cause it is needed by all life on Earth... Concordia, why are you crying?"

_While he was speaking, tears had begun to stream from her eyes. She brought one hand up to wipe them away._

"Concordia?" He replied shakily, voice inflecting the slightest bit higher out of fear. Was something wrong with her?

_"It's alright, N." She kneeled down to his level, taking his face between her two hands and giving him a small kiss on the forehead. Then she stood back up, wiping her face with her hand again. Without another word, she left the room, closing the door and locking it behind her like everyone was instructed to do after they visited him._

_That was the first and last time he had ever seen her cry._

N was snapped back to the present by the door of the playroom creaking open. He pressed his back tightly against the half-pipe, wishing the person that walked in was anyone else. He hung his head, hiding his face from this feared person.

Ghetsis took his time slowly and casually walking across the room. "I hope you enjoyed your time with that girl," he started, his voice betraying no anger or bitterness, nor penitence. "You'll never see her again, you know. She probably just felt sorry for you anyway."

He bit his lip, shutting his eyes tightly. Right now, he just hoped with all his heart that she was safe; that she had gotten away from Dread and wasn't lying dead on the ground in the spot he had last seen her... even if he would never see her again. It hurt to think about it, but she was probably better off without him. She would never have been in danger in the first place if she had stayed with her family and friends. But this terrible pain in his chest...

Ghetsis loomed over him, a seemingly calm presence for the moment. "I was rather surprised when I heard that black-haired idiot report to his leader that two people matching your descriptions were with the Pokédex wielders. It seems almost like fate is on my side. It brought you back to me, after all. How does it feel knowing you were never meant to be a real boy, Pinocchio?"

Maybe he had been kidding himself. After all, he was made to be a puppet, right? But Touko had made him feel so real... That couldn't have been an illusion... could it?

Ghetsis chuckled. "As meek as always, it seems," he remarked, heading back to the door. "You'll be staying in this room for the time being as punishment for your failure." he added. "Doesn't it bring back memories?" With that he left. N heard the soft "_click"_ of the lock.

He was alone again.

* * *

><p>"You're... really irritating, did you know that?" Dread sighed, helping Touko off of the Pokémon he had called "Salamence".<p>

"I'm sorry, did you expect me to be a well-behaved little girl for you?" she retorted, stumbling off of the dragon. He had tied her hands and blindfolded her, which she hadn't exactly been quiet about on the way to wherever it was they were.

"You didn't put up a fight when I captured you."

"Only because I'm going to escape with N."

"And here I was thinking you just liked me."

Touko held her tongue, above humoring him. She felt him untying her blindfold and in seconds it was off. She blinked the get her eyes adjusted to the light again. They were in the middle of a large group buildings. Surrounding these buildings was a seemingly impervious wall lined with sharp spikes that jutted threateningly outwards.

"Dread!" someone called in a rough, low voice. They both turned around. While they were conversing, a mountain of a man hand sneaked up behind them. He leered at the person who owned the name he had just spoken with narrowed eyes. "How many times have you been told not to land in a battle area?"

"Oh please, it's not like anyone was using it," he answered, rolling his eyes. "You're the only person that's said anything about it, actually."

The much older man got into Dread's face. "Let's get something straight: I can't stand you. What was our leader thinking, giving someone as weak as you the position of general? Everyone knows you don't deserve it!"

Dread didn't so much as flinch. "If you're done, I have to be going somewhere."

"Damn you and your smugness." He backed away and noticed Touko for the first time. "What is this?" he growled.

"This," Dread began, pulling her behind him, "is one of the owners of the Pokédex. I captured her."

The big man looked alarmed. "You were told to eliminate them! They're supposed to be one of our biggest threats and you march one of them over here! I knew you were stupid, but not like this. But I guess this is what happens when you give weaklings positions of power. Don't think our leader isn't going to be hearing about this." The man paused as if waiting for some form of retaliation from Dread. When he recieved none, he turned his back on them and disappeared into one of the buildings.

"Pffch." Dread grabbed a slightly shaken-up Touko by the arm, pulling her with him as he made his way to a destination unknown to her. She glanced into a few of the buildings as they passed by, as most of them did not have doors. Inside of them were Pokémon in cages stacked on top of each other. One of them in particular caught her eye: a cream-colored Pokémon with a horn and beautiful flaming mane. It was in a rather cramped quarters for its size. Its head hung low. The creature made eye-contact with her, holding her gaze for a total of two seconds. Then it snorted, turning away. She felt sorry for it- for all of these Pokémon.

They entered a building bigger than the others. Inside, there were more people. They looked up as the two of them entered. Dread paused. A heavy silence hung over the room as everyone froze, making Touko feel extremely uncomfortable. Why were they all staring?

"Carry on... please," pardoned Dread, leading her into a hallway. As soon as they left, Touko could hear the noise start back up behind them. "Why did they do that?" she asked curiously.

"Because I'm a general," he replied as if it were a stupid question. He tugged her harder as they turned a corner.

"What's going to happen to me? What about my Pokemon?"

"I'm taking you to where you'll be kept for the time being. Depending on how well our leader's vision plays out, you may end up free eventually... or dead."

Gulp.

He laughed, stopping in front of a door and unlocking it with a key he pulled from his pocket. "Hopefully it won't come to that. Bringing you here will not be a popular decision with the others as it is, so you'd better behave. Your Pokémon will be caged and put with mine. That way they wouldn't be made to fight in any battles they would surely lose." He untied her hands.

She narrowed her eyes. "You're going to put my Pokémon in those cages? And don't talk about them like that. They sure as hell aren't wea-!"

Dread moved without warning, roughly pinning her against the wall. Her body made a thud and she squeaked in surprise, a sudden fear coming over her.

"I think you've mistaken me for someone who it's okay to piss off. You're lucky I'm showing you any sort of mercy at all. Don't make me change my mind. Get in the room."

She hated him. She _hated_ him! Touko could feel angry tears forming at the corners of her eyes. When he moved aside, she walked slowly into the room, dragging her feet.

"Oh wow, I just kind of went off on you, didn't I? I'm going to leave before this gets more awkward, so... good night-er- day. Whatever." He closed the door, leaving her in the room by herself. Then she heard him through the door. "I'm leaving Pokémon to guard this room in case anyone wants to try anything. Later."

She waited a good twenty seconds before slamming her fist against the door, crying out in frustration. She only hit it once, but she could hear the Pokémon Dread left growling on the other side in response. Her other fist met the door as well, but not nearly with as much force as the first. Her body slumped against it and she slid down to the floor, fighting back tears. Where had her confidence gone all of a sudden? How was she going to save N like this? He was probably worse off than her. She hated that he was with Ghetsis again. What was he saying to him? What was he _doing_ to him? And worst part about it:

_"I can't do anything..."_

_((A/N: My deviantART is blessed-oblivion. If you have one, you should watch me because I'm going to start giving you sneak peaks at the next chapters via journal. Also, I draw a lot of ferriswheelshipping c: )  
><em>


	16. Chapter 16

Touko spent the next couple of days cooped in that room, somewhere on the edge of depression. She barely got any sleep. During the night sometimes she would move her hand over the empty spot next to her head where Beloved would have been, expecting to feel his soft fur, and then remember that her cream-colored companion was not with her. Then she would curl up and wish she were back home.

The room she was in itself wasn't horrible. It contained only a comfortable bed and a desk, which held paper and some books. She had no interest in those things, however. The room was also connected to a bathroom. Dread got some people to bring her food, clothes, and other things she may need. He also payed her frequent unwelcome visits. He would ask her questions about herself to which he would receive no reply. She refused to talk to him. It was like he didn't understand the fact that he had her _imprisoned_ in this room. He didn't seem to get that she hated his guts.

"Why weren't you this quiet when I was bringing you here?" asked the black-haired annoyance, sitting across from her in a chair he had pulled up with his head propped up on his hand. Because she never answered, he would dawdle between random subjects. Sometimes he said things that made her want to speak out of resentment. She held her tongue, however; she had a feeling he was doing it on purpose.

This was one of the pauses between his aimless ramblings where he was thinking of what to say next. Touko wished he would go away. His presence made her nervous. There was something about him that genuinely scared her. Maybe it was the way she suspected his demeanor belied some sort of darker personality that lurked just below the surface, so subtle that she wondered if she was imagining it.

"Damn, you are really bringing me down," Dread sighed, hanging his head and running a hand through his hair. "You hardly eat what I have people bring for you, you won't say anything... you act like you've been in here for years when it's only been just barely a week. Quit acting like a prisoner. Oh, wait-"

She wanted _so _badly to tell him right then and there what she thought of him and his army. They weren't even an army, actually; just another crime syndicate like Team Rocket, whom she had heard much about. As far as she knew, the only army title they had were the generals; the rest were grunts or grunt equivalents apparently, from what she had picked up from Dread.

Dread lowered his eyes to the ground, scratching his head. "Um... I found out where your... friend is," he said carefully, ending the sentence in a small cough.

"Where is he?" she exclaimed suddenly, looking at him for the first time since they had been in the same room.

Having finally gotten a reaction out of his captive, Dread smirked. "The old man took him to one of our smaller camps. He keeps him in this weird room... It looks like a five-year-old's heaven."

_N's playroom._ "But that's in Unova! How-"

"He fixed up the place to look like that himself. I'm not sure why."

Touko toyed with her hair, a bad feeling welling up inside her. Why would Ghetsis make a second playroom just to keep N in? He wasn't the type of person to do something without a reason. What was it about that particular room? "Is he... Is he alright?"

Dread lifted his head, eyes shifting to the side. "I don't know. I only glimpsed the inside of the room as the old guy was entering. To tell you the truth, I wasn't supposed to be there. Even though that man is working with us, N is technically _his _prisoner. I've been told not to get involved."

Of course. She still couldn't do anything to help him.

"... I could... take you to him tonight..."

His offer came as a shock to her. It must have been apparent by her expression, because he chuckled with that irritating smirk on his face,

"See how generous I am? Breaking the rules to let you meet with your boyfriend! I'm only going to do this because I'm such a nice person." He got up from the chair and headed to the door. "If you try to run, I'll hurt you both, though," he said in a cheery tone. "It'll be really late at night, so be awake and ready when I get here."

* * *

><p>She didn't mind staying up. She hadn't slept well since she had been brought to this room. When he left, she sat motionless on the bed. If you didn't count the threat, it was almost as if Dread was trying to be nice. Should she trust him? She still couldn't shake that feeling she had about him... But for now, she had to trust him. Or at least pretend like she did until a chance to escape with N presented itself. If one did come along, Touko prayed she would have the vigilance to be able to detect it.<p>

Dread showed up at 1:47 A.M. and briefly explained to her how their little outing would work. "The trick is to make it look like a general escorting a captive, because it is," he had instructed. She took that to mean "Don't act comfortable."

He tied her hands behind her back, thankfully not as tight as before. "Even now there are people roaming about the camp. They watch the place at night. Remember, act like a captive. You ready?"

She nodded.

He led her through the hallways and to the entrance without speaking. When they stepped outside, he slowed down to a more casual speed, calmly revealing an Ultra Ball and bringing Salamence out in a flash of red. After climbing on, he pulled her up.

Almost thirty minutes later they were in a place much like the one they had departed from, only this one was smaller and better-kept. She tried to slide down the Salamence on her own, but ended up losing her balance when her feet met the ground because of her restrained hands, nearly falling over. She imagined it had probably looked pretty silly trying to regain her balance and it was confirmed by a laughter from Dread. Her face reddened in embarrassment. _Just hurry up and take me to N._

They walked until they came to the most sizable building- which still wasn't all that big- and went inside. He led her around a corner and stopped suddenly. "He's in this room," he told her, indicating a door to the right. After untying her hands, he took out a key and unlocked the door.

Touko stepped into the room. Because the lights were off, it was pitch black and she accidentally kicked some kind of toy that happened to be in the path of her foot. A second later, Dread flipped the light switch, and suddenly she found herself surrounded by toys and bright colors.

"Told you," Dread spoke from near the door. "Weird, isn't it? I knew there was something off about that Ghetsis guy from the moment I saw him, but this just proves it. He went through all the work of fixing it up just so..." Dread closed the door with him on the other side of it while he was still talking. Touko heard the click of the lock and his voice began to fade as he walked away. Why was he still talking?

She turned back to the mess in front of her. She understood it was just a replica, but the last time she had been in this room she had seen it as humorous. Now she was serious, and it made her feel uneasy. Where was N? She didn't see him. Did Dread trick her?

Touko took cautious steps around the various toys until she made it to the half pipe- the biggest thing in the room. "N?" she called, receiving no reply. She stepped onto the structure, peeking around to the other side of it. Her eyes lit up. There was N! He was asleep on the floor in a rather peculiar way. He was curled up in the small space between the half pipe and the wall. He had a blanket with him, but instead of covering his body, he had it bunched up over his head. She sat down next to him. "N," she said gently, placing her hand on his shoulder. His body withdrew from her touch, but he did not wake. She slowly lifted the blanket up and shook him slightly.

N jumped awake, sitting up and pressing his back to the wall, and she wondered what he was expecting to make him react like that.

The disbelief on his face was obvious. "Touko?" His eyes lit up and he visibly relaxed. "What are y-... H-how-..."

Touko threw her arms around him, effectively silencing his stuttering. "They got me, but it doesn't look like Dread is going to hurt me..." She released him and her finger moved instinctively to curling her long wavy hair. "He's strange, but I don't think he's as bad as the rest of them. He did bring me to see you, after all."

N's eyes were narrowed as if he was doubtful, but they quickly softened. "I... thought I would never get to see you again. Ghetsis told me that. He comes in here to talk to me occasionally."

Somehow, she didn't think Ghetsis was talking to him about how sorry he was for taking away his childhood and raising him on lies. "What else does he tell you, N?" she pressed.

He was hesitant to respond. When he looked the other way, Touko determined that she wasn't going to get an answer. Him not wanted to talk vexed her. Maybe he didn't trust her completely? "That's okay, I'm just happy to see you."

N smiled weakly. "I'm glad you came..."

It was then that Touko became aware of the fact that her time with N was numbered. "Ahh, I have to go in a couple of minutes," she sighed, getting up. In the process of this, she was grabbed by a pair of arms and yanked downward.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself on top of N, practically in his lap. He had his arms around her waist, holding her tightly pressed against him. Because she had landed on her knees and he was sitting down, she was up higher than he was. His head was resting on her chest. She gasped. At that moment, Touko didn't think she had ever blushed so hard in her life. She stayed like that out of shock, her head spinning, heart racing. She fought to regain her senses.

Anyone seeing them might have thought they were being inappropriate, and if N were anyone else, Touko would have suspected him of perversion.

"Do you feel sorry for me?" N spoke, breaking up the heavy silence between them. "Is that why you try so hard?"

"Of course not! What would make you think something like that?" she replied indignantly.

"...Ghetsis."

Touko sighed frustratedly. "If Ghetsis cared about you enough to say something like that, then you wouldn't be here..." She softened her voice and nuzzled into his tea-green hair, at the same time bringing her arms up to wrap his head in a snug embrace. At that moment, he seemed more childlike and vulnerable than ever. "So," she added, "don't believe what he says, okay?"

N tightened his hold on her. "You're right... but Touko, I'm afraid. I don't want things to go back to the way they were, where I was alone in this room all the time."

"What do you mean?"

"I wasn't allowed out of my playroom until I turned eight years old, or out of the castle until I I was ten. Even I couldn't recognize it at the time, but I was terribly lonely around all the sages and grunts that tended to me, and even the select Pokémon that I was allowed to play with."

This was the first time she had heard anything about that. She pulled herself back, sitting on the floor in front of him. He seemed almost reluctant to let her go.

They heard the door click open. Dread poked his head inside and motioned to Touko that it was time to go.

She got to her feet, keeping her eyes on N as she did so. "I'll come and visit you again if I can. Don't be fooled by Ghetsis. We _are _going to make it out of this. Both of us." She gave him a sincere smile. "And I'm not going to let you be alone again."

A faint flicker of surprise shone in his eyes, but he smiled back with a nod.

Touko left him with a clear understanding of what Ghetsis was trying to do. He was using that room to try and take control over N again by stirring up the memory of his childhood. He was mentally taking him back in time, in a manner of speaking. She hoped that she had just at least thrown a wrench into his plans that night.

"Have fun?"

She ignored Dread's question, and pondered thanking him. If she wanted to see N again, it was best to be on good terms with him. "I appreciate you bringing me here."

There was that smirk again, but she supposed she was going to have to get used to it.

* * *

><p>It was another night of little to no sleep for Touko. She kicked the blanket off of her in irritation. Why did it seem so much hotter than it was before she had gone to see N? If she couldn't sleep before, then it was impossible now.<p>

_Bump._

Touko sat up and went still. What was that? Was she imagining things? She slowly lay back down. This time, making no noise.

_"Vrrrrrr."_

She jumped away from the bed, stifling a scream with her hand. There was something under there; no doubt about it. She had heard it clearly that time. Tentatively, she reached over and flicked the light switch next to the door. She stood motionless, waiting for whatever was hiding under her bed to do something else. It didn't.

On all fours, Touko lowered her head to take a peek at the surprise intruder. Just as she did so, a streak of white and red came hurdling into her face. She fell back and with a muffled shout. Whatever the thing was, it was crawling around all over her while she flailed confusedly to get it off. Eventually, it made the mistake of crossing over to her arm. She shook the arm vigorously, sending the thing flying across the room and onto her bed, where it lay still, curled into a tiny ball. Relieved, she crossed over to get a better look.

As she got closer, the identity of her visitor became unequivocal.

_"Vrrrrr..."_ The Larvesta uncurled shyly and looked up at her with blue eyes. Touko melted at the sight. She brought her arm closer to the bed to allow the tiny Pokémon access. It took the invitation, climbing up her arm thankfully slower than before. "I forgot that you were supposed to hatch soon!" she said, giving her new friend a scratch on the head. Actually, she had forgotten completely that she was lugging around an egg this whole time. When the Dire Army went through her bag, they must have been searching specifically for certain items and didn't notice the container the egg was in when they gave it back to her.

Then she remembered something else. Grabbing the conveniently-located lamp that had been sitting on the desk in her hand, she took a deep breath. Touko tossed the lamp into the air, and as immediate as possible shouted the command, "Psychic!"

The lamp stopped mid-fall, glowing a faint purple. Larvesta's eyes were glowing the same color as the baby Pokémon concentrated on holding the lamp up. It wasn't long before the lamp began violently shaking and the glow faded. Touko caught it before it could hit the ground.

The Larvesta was the offspring of her two Volcarona; the female she had caught In Relic Castle and the male she recieved as an egg from a ranger back in Unova. She had taught the male one the move Psychic from a TM, and it had learned Bug Buzz through level up. That meant it passed those two moves down to this little one, just as she predicted.

_"If I could find a way to train this Larvesta without being found out..."_

__(AN: sorry i dont update this soon enough. it's just... LIFE asdfghj... i really want to update faster, but maaaaan  
>im still doing the sneak peaks at new chapters on my dA: .com  
>theres also a lot of ferriswheelshipping art)<p> 


	17. Chapter 17

At the end of another two weeks of confinement, the little Larvesta had yet to master Psychic, but Bug Buzz was already perfected. It made sense considering Bug Buzz was a move that Larvesta learn naturally. Hiding the little girl from Dread was proving no easy task. She ate _a lot_, and if she was not properly sated, she would take to singeing the edges of her trainer's sheets and nibbling on them. This Touko tried to discourage, as it would be very difficult to explain if Dread were to notice.

She had not seen N since the one time two weeks ago, and she was getting worried. Dread told her that he would think about letting her see him again, but it didn't look like he was going to. He was stopping by less to talk to her now, and she didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed. He was her only source of human contact and not entirely terrible to converse with, though he brought up a few unconventional subjects that were actually quite silly.

Dread's absence did, however, make it easier to train Larvesta. Her Psychic could now hold small objects like the lamp for about twenty seconds, thirty if she pushed herself.

Larvesta was now snoozing on Touko's pillow, occasionally twitching as if she were dreaming. The Torch Pokémon's purr reminded her of Beloved. She wondered how he and the rest of her team were doing. She hoped they weren't too uncomfortable in those cages.

A knock on the door made Touko spring into action. She snatched Larvesta from the pillow and hurried into the bathroom, stashing the sleeping Pokémon in the closet amongst some towels and closing it. "Come in," she said the person outside the door, expecting Dread to stroll in and make a stupid remark as usual. However, the person that entered was not Dread, but another girl who looked only slightly older than herself. She had short light-brown hair and wore a black headband that was slightly off-centered. She had a hand up in front of her face and was looking off to the side.

Seconds passed, and neither of them said anything. Touko decided she had better be the one to talk. "Is there a reason why you have your hand in front of your face?"

"Are you decent?" the girl asked, probably a bit louder than necessary.

Touko blinked, raising a brow. She searched the girl for some sign that she was joking, and, upon finding none, she replied with some indignation, "Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?"

Her visitor relaxed, hand dropping to her side. Touko could now see that she had deep green eyes. "I don't see why he is so adamant on keeping you alive." She pouted as she said this, cheeks puffing out.

Sensing that this was not going to be a friendly encounter, Touko gathered her wits. Dread had told her that most of the generals wanted her dead, and she wouldn't put it past them to try something despite the black-haired general's wishes. "Are you a general?" she asked suspiciously.

"No, and you can relax because Dread sent me here to check on you, and to tell you something," the visitor replied, becoming suddenly interested in her nails and humming a tune. "My name is Nelly. I don't care for your name, though."

She took a moment to get her temper under control. It was obvious that she was trying to anger her, but being forcibly confined to one room will do bad things to one's tolerance. "What did Dread want to tell me?" she questioned through gritted teeth.

"Just that your friend is a lost cause," replied Nelly, smugly, moving some of her light brown hair out of her face.

_N?_ "What do you mean?" she asked with some uneasiness. This was definitely not going to be good news.

Nelly clapped her hands together, savoring Touko's alarm no doubt. There was a gleeful expression on her face that made the already morose captive want to get up and slap it off. She wondered if Dread sent this person just to piss her off.

"The green-haired punk with the cap gave in. He's with Ghetsis right now as we speak! Looks like he's done with you!"

Words failed her. Touko's spirits hit rock-bottom. He wouldn't. Did Ghetsis get through to him? She should have gone to see him again sooner! If he really did go back to Ghetsis, it was because she didn't save him fast enough.

"You look surprised," Nelly continued, happy to be dealing this emotional blow. "It's really quite simple, though. He's walking around free right now while you, on the other hand, are _stuck here_."

Her words struck a fuse. In her hand Touko snatched the object in nearest proximity — the lamp — and hurled it at Nelly in a fit of blind rage. It would have hit the mark if that mark had not casually stepped to the side. The lamp struck the closed door behind where Nelly had been standing and shattered into countless tiny pieces on the floor.

Nelly giggled, loving every second. "Please throw something else," she taunted, prodding bits of broken glass on the floor with her foot.

"Where is Dread?" Touko shouted, just about fed up with this vile woman. "Why did he send _you?_"

"Our general has problems of his own that are of much greater importance than keeping track of you!" she snapped back defensively. Her hand flew up to cover her mouth as if embarrassed by her outburst. She cleared her throat before speaking again. "Dread said he will be by here later. If you give him a hard time, I'll kill you myself. He's so strong and smart and mysterious... the best general. The rest of them don't see it, but I do. They think he's weak." Nelly appeared to have forgotten where she was and who she was talking to. Every inch of her expressed admiration.

Disgusting. This she-devil had some kind of sick obsession with Dread. _Are they dating or something? This chick is crazier than he is!_

Gradually Nelly regained her senses and fixed her green eyes on Touko with some distaste. "I've said all I came here to say." She left without another word.

* * *

><p>Dread slowly opened the door to Touko's room, and upon entering, closed the door behind his back. He took notice of the shattered lamp at his feet. His eyebrows went up and he drew the corners of his mouth back; an unmistakable expression that in a universal language meant "<em>yikes!<em>". He stepped over the broken mess and turned the desk chair around, taking a seat. He fixed Touko with a blank look, waiting for her to speak her mind.

She was sitting up on her bed, hugging her pillow tightly with her knees closed to her body. She did not react to Dread at first. Honestly, she didn't know what to say anymore — or what to do, rather. She was confined to this room, at the mercy of these people. She couldn't imagine a more hopeless situation.

It was nighttime, and the only way Touko knew it was by the digital clock on the desk. She hadn't seen the world outside in three weeks. That and the combination of the news she heard earlier was taking its toll. "I feel sick," she mumbled, resting her forehead on her knees.

"You and me both," Dread responded dryly. "Oh — I mean sick how?"

"Sick of being in this room; sick of being away from my Pokémon; sick of your whole damn 'army'!" Touko sneered.

"This is about Nelly, right? Maybe I shouldn't have sent her to tell you about N. I just thought you might want to know right after it happened, and I couldn't make it to you then." After a small chuckle he added, "I didn't think she would mouth off enough to have you throw a lamp at her."

"Really? I had this crazy idea that maybe you sent her on purpose just to get at me," she said, laughing although she didn't find anything the slightest bit funny. It was more a contemptuous snort. "Why _her_ though? I doubt she was your only choice."

"She was the only person I could trust not to ask questions about why I was passing the information on to you. I need only say 'do this and don't tell anyone' and her lips are sealed."

"She has quite the crush on you; seems like just your type, too."

"Okay, ouch. It's cute that she follows me around and does everything I say exactly and all, but Nelly is just another subordinate to me. One of many. If she were to die under a mysterious circumstance, I wouldn't particularly care. I just like to use her little crush to my advantage sometimes," Dread explained matter-of-factually. "It's funny that you would mention that. Are you jealous?"

"You're delusional," retorted Touko.

"Yeah, you're right. After all, you only have eyes for N, right? Even though he practically betrayed you." He was without a doubt testing her for a reaction.

At this point she didn't care. "Shut up!" she screamed at him. She wanted to say more to defend N, but what could she say when she had doubts herself? He couldn't be entirely blamed, she reasoned. It was Ghetsis. The former sage was sly. He always knew exactly what to say in order to get what he wanted. That was his deadly talent. _But I talked to him. I tried my best to reassure him. I... wasn't enough?_

Someone knocked on the door. Both she and Dread drew their attention to the person who poked his head into the room. He had long, wavy blonde hair adorned with feathers of many different shades of blue. He had fair skin and a kind, disarming smile. Touko almost asked him what he was doing in a place like this.

"Hello," the man greeted. "Ah, Dread, good to see you are well. Our leader has called for an assembly of the generals and respected members..." His blue eyes wandered to Touko and he smiled. "He said to bring the _miss _with you."

Dread got up from his chair. "North. An assembly scheduled for today must have slipped my mind?"

The blonde man named North laughed, scratching his head. "There wasn't one. This is sort of out-of-the-blue. He says it's important that this be dealt with now." He backed out of the doorway and closed the door, leaving the two of them alone.

Dread walked slowly to the door, rubbing the bridge of his nose and sighing as if suddenly very tired. He stopped when he reached the door. Touko could hear him mumbling to himself. "Well, let's go," he said at last.

"Give me a sec to get ready!" She grabbed her bag and went into the bathroom. Either he didn't see her grab it, or he didn't care, because he made no objections. She locked the door behind her and went to the cabinet.

Larvesta jumped out at her, landing smack in the middle of her face. "Cute," she commented sarcastically, removing the Pokémon from her face. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "I need you to be really quiet, okay little one? Don't make a sound and don't move around too much." She lowered the Pokémon into her bag. Once inside, the bug type looked up at her with wide blue eyes. "It's okay," Touko soothed quietly, "Nobody is going to hurt you." She zipped the bag closed, then brushed her hair a bit.

"Hurry the hell up; this is a gathering of criminals, not a high-society banquet!" Dread yelled from the other side of the door, impatient.

She took a deep breath and stepped out of the bathroom. Dread didn't say anything else to her. Instead, he took her by the arm and pulled her along with him.

* * *

><p>He brought her to a large room where roughly thirty people were waiting. She felt their gazes boring into her almost as soon as she stepped in. "Dread," she whispered, "what is this?"<p>

Dread ignored her, taking her to a lone chair in the middle of the room, isolated from the others, and told her to sit down. She didn't like it. All of the other chairs were arranged in a circle around her.

She got scared for a second because she thought he was going to walk away, but to her relief he remained standing next to her, waiting for whatever this was to start. With each passing second her anxiety rose. _I have a really bad feeling..._ Looking around, someone familiar caught her eye. He was speaking with a man that she didn't recognize, his one visible eye glinted wickedly. _Ghetsis._ Standing a little ways behind him was N. Touko had a feeling he was purposely avoiding eye contact with her because nobody else in the room was shy about staring her down.

The man Ghetsis had been speaking with broke away, and the room gradually became silent. He moved with an air of authority that told Touko he was their leader. With a start she came to the realization that he was not walking to one of his generals or other subordinates — _but straight in her direction!_

"Dread, tell me what's going on, please!" she pleaded, panic setting in.

Dread leaned over her from behind the chair she was seated in and whispered in her ear. "Tonight they will be deciding on how to handle you." A hesitant pause — and then he continued. "Depending on how this goes, you might not be leaving this room alive."


End file.
